Battle Stain
by ShadowMajin
Summary: With a parasitic force attempting to conquer the universe, a group of battle harden warriors fight for their lost world.
1. Price to Play

Hello everyone. This is ShadowMajin welcoming you back into the place known as my head. Kinda comfy ain't it?

For those of you who are eagerly awaiting the Sequel to Survival of the Lamest, I'm sorry to say that I'm having a lack of inspiration for it. Don't worry, I'm gonna do it, it's just going to be on the back burner for now. Writer's block sucks alot.

However, with the backing of Im-all-yours, I bring to you this little fic of mine. Enjoy, be merry, and do all of that other jazz that comes with reading a fanfic.

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the chapter titles. The titles belong to the band Staind, for which I'm using their song titles.

* * *

/Whoosh/

The sound of a thrown fist echoes off the cave walls

/Whoosh/

Those damned parasites.

/Whoosh/

They do nothing but destroy.

/Whoosh/

They show no regard to anyone other than themselves.

/Whoosh/

None whatsoever.

/Whoosh/

Deep in the darkness of the cave stood a lone figure. He stood in a fighting stance, throwing punches into the darkness at his nonexistent opponent, droplets sweat flying from his arms as each punch reached its complete distance. The droplets arched towards the ground until they spattered on the ground and cave wall.

Sweat poured down the fighter's well-toned, shirtless body, each muscle carefully defined and hardened by battle. The top of his spandex pants absorbed his sweat as each drop met the waistband, his tail waving sporadically behind him. His black spiky hair was glistening with the moisture dripping down his body. His eyes matched his hair, yet unlike the hair his eyes held a determined and captivating strength.

Not to mention a deep-seeded hatred.

Off in a corner of the cave, the bodies of two pre-teen children slept in confident safety, as if nothing could hurt them while their sweaty protector was there. In a way, they were right.

In another, they were completely wrong.

Outside of their dark haven, the cruel world was inhabited by the parasitic menace that had invaded their world more then a decade earlier. While the two children had always known of the horrors that their time held, the oldest had known one of peace, a world without the pains of war and death.

What he wouldn't give to have those times again.

Even when the first parasites invaded his home planet, he had more "company." He had managed to survive the initial attack with his father and younger brother; however, he had lost his mother in the process.

It wasn't long until he and his remaining family had run into the surviving royals while hiding out in one of the remaining forests. From what he understood, they were the only two to survive the attack on the capital. The heir to the throne and his only son joined their new group in order to survive.

Every once and a while, they ran into another one of their kind, always at random times. He would always give them the latest news from other groups of survivors and then would leave on his own. It was always strange for him to see this wanderer since he looked so much like his father. But with the news that resistance was being produced, they found hope.

And then they began their counterattacks.

For the one called Gohan, this was the sweet revenge that he had craved since he had witnessed his mother's death. Between him, his father, and the prince, they attacked every outpost, every garrison, every single place that inhabited those vile things.

Although their counterattacks could only be chalked up to raids, they were still self-satisfying, at least for Gohan. For the prince, Vegeta, they were a way to show that he was still alive, and was willing to do anything for revenge. For his father, Goku, they were a way to resist, to protect his remaining family and friends. Of course, they never allowed the children, Goten and Trunks, to join their raids. The three oldest warriors felt it was too dangerous for them to fight, not to mention the fact that something could go wrong and one of them could be killed.

They never knew how right they were.

It was supposed to be a routine raid, nothing big. But something had gone wrong.

The parasites had been waiting for them.

* * *

_(flashback)_

Soldiers were patrolling the garrison, their confidence at its peak. They had soundly defeated the Sayian menace, their fear of them conquered. There was no reason to expect their resistance.

Without warning, a bright flash engulfed the area, followed by flames as men were incinerated.

An explosion rocked the fort uncontrollably, the cries of pain of the survivors never being heard as they were viciously killed the moment they went to scream. Soldiers rushed to the breached point, positioning themselves to attack the invaders.

They never stood a chance.

Even before they had the chance to fire their weapons, they were blasted by the enemy. A cruel cackle could be heard over the destruction as a short man with flame-like hair appeared out of nowhere, his face a portrait of pure cruelty and madness. Beside him, another man, a boy if you will, walked up to him. His stone cold face contradicted his companion as he stood next to him, almost eye to eye. Another man approached from the opposite side, coming to a stop on the opposite shoulder of the wild man, a face of determination fixed upon his features as he towered over his friends.

Together, they each raised one of their hands, bright orbs of energy flickering into existence before they fired on their latest victims. Cries of pain and death flew from their victims' lips as they uttered the last sounds of their retched lives.

"Bastards. Don't like it so much when they're the ones on the receiving end," said an emotionless Gohan.

"Of course, Brat. That's the kind of weaklings that they are. Catch them by surprise and they run around like scared infants," said Vegeta as he walked in front of the younger Saiyan.

A small smile creased over Goku's face. "Shall we continue?"

"By all means Kakarot, by all means."

The destruction of the fort was tremendous. No soldier escaped their blasts unscathed. The ones who were unlucky to survive incineration were burned alive or slowly bled to death. No form of death was too good or extreme for these parasites.

A frown crossed over Goku's face. "Guys, do you get the feeling that this has been too easy?"

"Nonsense, Kakarot. This is how every other attack has been. You're being paranoid."

However, Gohan had similar thoughts. He just couldn't put his finger on it, but something did seems out of place.

"Guys, I'm gonna take care of those barracks. You never know if any of these cowards are hiding," Goku said with a smirk.

"Okay Dad. Vegeta and I will take care of the ammo dumps."

However, just as Goku turned around, a beam of light pierced right through his body. His eyes grew wide as another beam tore into his body, followed by several others. He was dead before he hit the ground.

Diving to the side of a semi-destroyed building, Vegeta seethed with fury while Gohan just stared wide eyed at the corpse of his father, a numbing feeling encompassing his body. Taking a peak around the corner, Vegeta's hissed as his eyes widen. "Blitz Rifles."

Blitz Rifles. The very name of the enemy's weapon chilled Gohan's blood. While these parasites were no threat to a Saiyan of any strength, their lead guns having no effect on them at all, the energy beams of the blitz weapons were just as deadly as a ki blast.

Damn those bastards.

"Vegeta, Dad was right. There was something completely wrong with this. We have to get out of here, now."

Vegeta nodded his agreement. Taking off at breakneck speeds, the two Saiyans ran through the crumpling outer wall, flight being too risky with the blitz rifles around. As much as it sickened the two warriors, they had to leave their fallen comrade behind.

As the fugitive Saiyans fled, a constant thought kept nagging at Vegeta, each nag solidifying its implication.

"We've been set up."

Gohan turned his head to Vegeta, shock clearly on his face. "Are you sure?"

Vegeta got a look as if he had a bad taste in his mouth. "Unfortunately, yes. Kakarot was right. We should've been more cautious. Damn it all."

That was when things went from bad to worse. Out of nowhere, blitz beams tore through the air at the unsuspecting Saiyans, surprising them. Fortunately, they managed to dodge the initial beams and the ones that followed for a while.

However, due to their attention being diverted to the onslaught of beams, Vegeta tripped over a tree root, falling to the ground.

Stopping, Gohan turned around to help his comrade, shouting his name in concern. "Vegeta!"

Vegeta raised himself on to all fours as he shook his head. "I'm alright, Brat." Just then, a beam of light caught Vegeta's eye, heading for its target.

Gohan.

"Brat, get down!" Vegeta screamed as he sent a shockwave at the Saiyan, knocking him down as the beam shot overhead. Sighing in relief and then growling in rage, Vegeta's temper took control of him. Getting onto his feet, Vegeta crouched into a stance, his hands cupped behind him. It didn't take very long for a purple orb of energy to appear. Crying out his battle cry, Vegeta unleashed his attack. "Gallic Gun Fire!"

The large purple beam raced at the attackers, blowing up on contact. Vegeta smirked. "Take that, weaklings."

A blitz beam then came out of nowhere, blowing a hole right through Vegeta's stomach.

Gohan's eyes widen in horror. "Vegata!"

Vegeta fell to his knees, spitting blood out of his mouth. "Gohan, get out of here, now!" When Gohan didn't move, Vegeta growled out of annoyance. "Brat! Do as I say now or I'll kill you myself!"

Rising back on to his feet, twin orbs of energy surrounded Vegeta's hands. After gathering enough energy, he unleashed a barrage of ki blasts at the enemy.

Shaking himself out of his stupor, Gohan got on to his feet and took off into the forest. After he covered several yards, he took one last look back at the proud Saiyan prince and soon wished he hadn't.

As the prince continued his attack, a blitz beam flew through the air and struck the prince in between the eyes, blowing a hole on the backside of his head. The prince fell to the ground, never to fight again.

Nevertheless, Gohan continued his escape alone until he reached their hideout where Goten and Trucks slept, awaiting their return. Grabbing a leather pack, he stuffed the two Saiyans into the bag, their sleeping heads sticking out the top next to each other. Putting the straps back over his shoulders, Gohan gathered his energy. He had one last thing to do with the cave.

Unleashing a cry of anguish, sorrow, and anger, Gohan unleashed his power, obliterating the cave.

* * *

It was hours later when the parasites investigated the scene. Like an army of ants, they crawl over the debris, searching for anything that could explain the reason for the unusual destruction.

They found nothing.

About forty leagues to the west, a small camp fire was burning away. Gohan stared into the flames, grief and despair dominated his features. Taking a quick peak at his little companions, he saw they had finally cried themselves to sleep. They hadn't taken the news of the fallen Saiyans well. Gohan had to cover their mouths to muffle their cries of misery just in case one of the parasite's patrols was in the area. Even if it was the best thing to do, he still felt like a bastard for doing it. They had just lost their fathers for Kami's sake!

It would be awhile before Gohan went on another raid. He needed Trunks and Goten to be in peak form as much as it sickened him to have two boys, one his brother, the other one he considered as one, stain their hands with blood.

He didn't have any other options though.

* * *

_(end flashback)_

Finishing his morning exercises, Gohan walked over to the slowly-awakening Saiyans. Over the course of five years, the boys had matured too fast for their respective ages, even for a Saiyan. Both of them wore their fathers' armor in respect to their memory, Trunks wearing a white, shoulderless armor while Goten wore a similar one, only black. Gohan himself wore a black armor, but unlike Goten's, his armor belonged to their grandfather, Bardock.

One thing that differed between the two, though, was Trunks had been given the family sword, a sign of the royal family's authority. Even though it was a sword, it had yet to spill blood until Trunks began to learn how to wield it.

There was no telling how many parasites had been slain with that sword.

Sighing, Gohan waited patiently for the maturing children to finish waking up. It was time for another raid.

Another chance to kill the parasitic humans.


	2. Cross to Bear

The sound of laughter could be heard all around. The crackling of wood burning mingled with the laughter as meat sizzled and beer was passed amongst the soldiers. Only the ones on guard duty weren't allowed to enjoy such pleasantries. True, it wasn't a good idea to be drunk on your guard shift but still…

Why did the others have to rub it in everybody else's face?

As one of the guards watched from his post, he pouted openly. He always enjoyed the time being merry as his comrades below him were, but having to look out into the darkness of the night—especially when the chill off the mountains were blowing in at full force—did nothing to cheer him up. He was supposed to be down there, getting drunk off his ass and getting into fights with the other drunks. One of the guards on duty just had to get sick on his night off. Just perfect.

The sound of gravel crunching alerted him to a presence in the night. Whipping his blitz rifle into a ready position, he was surprised to see his Sergeant-in-command standing before him, a quick look of surprise written on his face before it became a face of stone. "I see we're more preoccupied with something else, huh Private?"

The private hastily lowered his weapon, standing into attention. Of all the people he had to point his rifle at, it just had to be his commander. Typical.

As the sergeant watched him with cold eyes, daring him to answer him, he finally spoke. "Maybe we should get the private to do something other than sitting on his ass, hmmm? Maybe the private should go patrol the east wall by the barracks. Well, what do you think Private?"

"Sir, yes sir! I'll take care of that sir!" the private shouted. Snickers could be heard from the occupants by the fire. It was always a funny sight to see the sergeant bust someone's balls for idleness.

"You do that Private," the sergeant said before walking past the rigid guard. As soon as the commander disappeared, the private fell at ease before heading off to his new assignment grudgingly. Out of all the places on the base, the east wall by the barracks was the least favorite of all the men. It was dark and vulnerable to attack. It gave off an ominous feeling, as if anything that could go wrong would go wrong. No soldier wanted the task of patrolling that stretch of wall for any amount of time. It was like begging the enemy to take a shot at killing you.

As he navigated his way between the fire pits to his despised location, he couldn't help but envy the others as they carried on merrily. _That should be me right now._

As he carried on, the glow of the campfires casting eerie shadows on the surrounding buildings, the man continued his sulk. The base itself wasn't very large, but compare to some of the other frontier outpost as the men called them, it was one of the bigger ones. The base was built at the base of a cliff, the cliff's edge jutting over the base. Dull grey buildings of one to two stories were scattered at random places, but still gave the impression of being organized. Tinted windows were at predictable places on the walls of the buildings. Surrounding the encampment was a twenty foot wall, protecting the base from all sides until the walls met the sides of the cliff. It was towards the cliff that the barracks were positioned, the weapon storage and provisions lying further away from the cliff.

Finally, he reached his destination and began marching up and down the dark corridor. A sick feeling rose in his gut, which wasn't unusual when he was around this spot. He could only wish that his replacement was coming to relieve him soon.

As he reached the far end of the corridor, a hand reached out from behind him and clamped down firmly to his mouth, muffling any protest that escaped his lips. Then a long blade was stabbed right through his back, skewering him from front to back. Any cries he made for help or mercy were drowned out by the hand covering his mouth. The guard struggled with all his might before his mind shut itself down, his legs weakening from the weight of his body as he collapsed.

He was dead before he touched the ground.

* * *

"Gee Trunks, you must be getting soft or something. That one took longer than usual."

"Shut up Goten," Trunks hissed. Yeah he might have underestimated the guard's will to surviv,e but he still got the job done, didn't he? He would have loved to see Goten give it a try. Sneaking up and killing a man was hard work!

"Both of you, quiet," the ever-present Gohan whispered. "I don't know about you, but I don't want the whole base knowing we're here."

The younger Saiyans just nodded their heads in confirmation. Switching back into their game faces, the two prepared for the next move.

Gohan watched the two carefully before he gave them a little smirk. Turning his attention to Trunks, he gave the slightest movement of his head, tossing his head up. Trunks nodded his understanding before disappearing into the darkness. As Goten and Gohan waited, they felt a small ki disappear. Trunks had done his job perfectly.

Turning to Goten, Gohan pointed to a position on the west wall of the fort. Goten repeated Trunks' confirmation before he too disappeared. Some time passed as one by one, small kis were extinguished before a ki spiked, signaling to Gohan that Goten was in place.

Turning around, Gohan headed down towards the south end of the corridor. Unfortunately, he was delayed.

As he approached his position, a guard coming to replace the one Trunks had just killed, appeared. Thinking fast, Gohan shot himself at the man and before he could utter a sound of surprise, Gohan snapped his neck, the deceased body collapsing at his feet.

Gohan look at the crumpled heap in disgusted. Such weak bodies, yet they had managed to conquer one of the strongest races in the universe. So disgraceful.

So ironic.

Arriving at his position, Gohan crouched down behind several stacked creates before peeking over them, taking in every man, object, and ki signal. He would not be surprised again. If he so much as sensed a trap, he would pull Trunks and Goten out without hesitation. Sensing none, Gohan smirked.

It was time.

With the slight movement of his finger, Gohan shot a small ki blast at a stack of explosives, detonating them. The explosion rocked the base furiously. Nearby soldiers came running over to the fiery scene, trying to put out the flames before the fire consumed everything.

That's when Gohan launched the first wave of attack. Racing out of the shadows, Gohan attacked the men viciously. Men went flying through the air, holes in their guts and chest areas from the Saiyan's deadly fists, their bodies slamming into walls or skidding on the ground. Whipping himself to his right, Gohan fired a ki blast at the retreating men, who were making beelines for their weapons. They, like their weapons, were consumed in the destructive blast.

However, some soldiers were managing to regroup, their weapons in hand as they began to counter attack.

A second explosion knocked them off their feet, landing roughly on their stomachs or backs. What was impressive though, was the fact that the explosion had occurred from the opposite side of the base.

Gohan smirked. "Man, Goten can get carried away." Then his cold expression returned. He had to make sure the men recovering from the shockwave stayed down. Without a moment's hesitation, each recovering man found themselves proud owners of broken bones, necks and torn limbs. As they cried in misery and pain, Gohan decide to be nice for a change and show them some mercy.

He blasted every last man with their own special ki blast, courtesy of Son Gohan.

Screams rang out towards the northern wall before another explosion erupted, rendering the wall into rubble.

It carried on like that for the next hour. The Saiyan trio killed every last human, destroying their weapons and their ammo stashes. To them, it was one less weapon used to kill a Saiyan and all three boys would not begrudge such a simple chore.

Approaching the center of the presently ruined base, Gohan found Trunks sitting on some rubble; one leg hanging off the edge, his hands clasped around his other leg, the foot resting on the rubbles edge.

Gohan look towards him. "I see you're done early."

Trunks smirked. "It's not that hard killing weaklings," he stated as he turned his attention to the approaching Goten. "It took you longer than usual Goten. You must be getting soft."

Goten grimaced. "You wouldn't be saying that if you had been surrounded by fifty guys with blitz rifles."

Trunks just shrugged. "That's no excuse. We both saw Gohan take down a hundred men, each of them with two rifles and a blitz pistol."

"But that's because Gohan caught them by surprise! They had me completely surrounded!"

"Excuses, excuses."

As Gohan watched their banter, he couldn't help but smile. At least they weren't letting the killing get to them. That was all he could ask for considering their situation.

Sadly, he had to interrupt. "Do you guys want to keep fighting with each other or do you want to grab a bite to eat? I'm pretty hungry from our little exercise."

Happy looks adorned their faces. If there was one thing that made a Saiyan happy, it was food.

After rummaging around the camp, they found their spoils and indulged themselves. It wasn't like anyone would just pop out of nowhere and challenge them. Yet, they stayed cautious all the same. Once they filled their bellies, they packed as much food and other supplies as they could carry and left the fallen fort. They had once tried waiting for the recovery teams to arrive and attack them, but they had learned quickly that that was not a very good idea. They had to wait out a whole season before raiding another fort.

As they trudged through the forest, Gohan sighed. He wished they had more than just the three of them fighting, but he couldn't take that chance. He had heard rumors of a traitorous Saiyan amongst the surviving Saiyans. Many a time, a raiding Saiyan group would be ambushed or tricked into annihilation. The rumors went on to say that a wandering Saiyan was turning over his own kind to the humans. Although Gohan didn't like the sound of it, he couldn't help but feel its truth. It explained what Vegeta had told him before his death.

Since then, Gohan refused to travel with anyone other then Trunks and Goten. Anytime they ran into another Saiyan or a group of them, he would gather rumors and news of other raids and human troop movement before leaving them in the dead of night, leaving enough food for his acquaintances' breakfast.

At first the two young ones had complained. It wasn't often they saw other people besides the ones they killed, but after hearing Gohan explanation, they complied. As much as they honored their fathers, they wouldn't make their mistakes.

As they worked their way through the underbrush, they ran head first into a lone Saiyan. Immediately, they dropped their spoils and dropped into fighting stances, Trunks drawing his sword and pointing it towards the Saiyan.

Seeing that he was outnumbered, the Saiyan raised his arms in surrender. "I give," he said in as much of a neutral voice as he could muster.

Trunks slowly crept over to the man keeping his blade between the two, stopping when he was within striking distance, keeping the sword point at his neck.

The Saiyan looked uncomfortably at the sword point. "Is that really necessary?"

Trunks answered him. "You've heard of the traitor rumors?"

"Good point."

Taking over the conversation, Gohan started his interrogation, never relaxing from his stance. "What's your name and why are you heading this way?"

The man cleared his throat. "My name's Celeon. I'm in the middle of escapin' a very persistent human platoon. I think I've shook them off, but I'm not very sure."

Gohan's eyes harden. "You do realize that you're heading straight for another human fort."

Celeon returned his glare. "It's not like I have a choice. I didn't know about there being a fort out here, but I've been surrounded. At the time they were right on my tail."

The sound of twigs breaking was heard, catching all of the Saiyans' attention as they snapped their heads towards the west.

A look of hatred flashed on Celeon's face. "They're here."

Reacting as fast as he could, Gohan seized Celeon by the arm and threw him into a bush, Trunks diving in after him and returning the sword point to his neck. Goten took off into some brush, readying himself in case he had to defend himself. Gohan stood behind a tree, prepping himself for an ambush. This was one platoon that wouldn't see home.

As the four warriors waited, the strenuous seconds ticking by, nervous sweat pour down their faces, the question of if they would survive weighing heavily on their minds.

Slowly, the humans appeared. Surprising to Gohan, they weren't as heavily armed as he thought they would be. Out of thirty men, only seven carried blitz rifles while twenty had regular pistols and the remaining three had blitz pistols. This would be easier then he thought.

As the unsuspecting men entered the grove that the Saiyans once stood in confrontation, looks of uneasiness appeared on their faces. It was as if they were in unfamiliar territory and had just lost the Saiyan's tracks that they were following. They knew he wouldn't risk flying, since it would alert every garrison within a five mile radius to where he was. For them, this was a bad situation.

Before they could even recant their thoughts, Gohan unleashed a huge ki blast, swallowing the rifle men and the three blitz pistol carriers. 'Good,' Gohan thought, 'now they can't harm me at all.'

The remaining men let loose their meager firearms. They didn't know if they could kill the Saiyan or whomever their attacker was, but they would try anyhow.

Approaching the men like an angel of death, the bullets bouncing off harmlessly, Gohan moved in for the kill. With brutal efficiency, the men fell victim to Gohan's power. Even as they fled into the woods, Gohan hunted them down and slaughtered them. Like he said, this was one platoon that wouldn't see home.

It was a quarter of an hour when he returned to his comrades. Trunks still kept his sword at Celeon while Goten kept the Saiyan in his sight. If he made one wrong move, he was a dead man.

Before them, a small fire was burning and their packs were brought together in a somewhat neat pile. Good, Trunks and Goten weren't playing around.

Celeon turn his attention to Gohan, still wary of Trunks' sword. "Ya think that you can call off your friend here? It's getting a little uncomfortable with this thing pointing at me."

Gohan ignored him and sat down, his eyes looking deep into the small flames of the campfire. His silence carried on for several minutes, Celeon shifting in his uneasiness, until Gohan finally started to talk. "What proof do you have that we can trust you?"

Celeon stared in deep thought before answering, "You can bind my hands to my feet, restricting my movement. I'd prefer that rather than a sword point."

Gohan smiled a small smile. "Trunks, you can lower your sword."

Slowly, the young saiyan complied, laying the blade in his lap. His eyes never leaving Celeon.

Celeon let out a deep breath and gave a small smile. "I thank you for your unintended rescue. I didn't think they were that close to me."

Gohan waved it off. "As long as those humans don't spill any more Saiyan blood, that's all I care about."

His guest nodded. If he could have done the same thing as Gohan, he would've. But without the element of surprise, he would've just died trying. "I don't blame you for your distrust. I would've done the same thing."

Gohan got a sick look. "It shouldn't have to come down to this. We're already victims of that coward's treachery."

Celeon's eyes widen. "What happened?"

Gohan's eyes narrowed. "My father, Prince Vegeta, and I were on a routine raid on a human garrison when we were attacked. My and Goten's father was the first to fall. Vegeta died while we were escaping. He took as many of those wretched parasites before they got him."

Celeon started in disbelief. "Prince Vegeta survived the attack on the capital?" Then his eyes became downcast. "Not that it matters since he's dead. He was the last royal wasn't he?"

Gohan smirked. "The young man with the sword is his son. Trunks here is the last of the royal bloodline unless I'm missing someone. If we can get rid of the humans, we still have a chance of rebuilding our civilization."

Hope shown on Celeon's face, a huge smile encompassing it. "That's the best news I've heard in ten years."

Gohan frowned. "I trust you'll keep this a secret."

A confused look replaced the saiyan's look of hope. "What? Why?"

"If word ever got out that Trunks is still alive, the humans will tear the planet apart just to get rid of him. And as long as I'm around, I won't let that happen, even if he's capable of taking care of himself," Gohan said as he gave a quick glance to Trunks, the implications of Gohan's words settling in his mind.

"Now, I don't know about you, but I want to get out of the open. You never know when the humans will pop up."

After extinguishing the fire, the four companions made their way into the hills, finding an abandon stone building, half destroyed by the recent war. Nightfall soon came and the Saiyans fell asleep. It was about one o' clock at night when Gohan roused his "brothers" from their slumber. They left Celeon some food and a note explaining their sudden departure and took off into the night, putting as much distance between Celeon as they possible could. In times like these, they couldn't afford to make mistakes.

No matter how genuine a person seemed.


	3. Falling

Hello everyone. Just thought I'd clear up a few things for anyone who's confused on any aspect of the story. This is placed on Planet Vegeta, making our three hero dudes full-blooded Saiyans. Hopefully that clears up any confusion that may have been floating around. Didn't give it much thought since I thought it was implied, but that's the way the cookie crumbles.

On a side note, thanks for that website dbz952. I was starting to have issues with the other two sites reguarding a certain episode. Just saved me a big one there.

* * *

It was just a routine raid, nothing different from the others. They went in, killed a bunch of people, blew a bunch of buildings, weapons, and what ever else up. They even enjoyed a brief celebration over the burning bodies of the fallen. But something was out of place, not like when Goku and Vegeta died, but something was off with this base. Something wrong.

But nothing had gone wrong. They had defeated their occupiers so easily a new born babe would have had an easier time defending itself. Trying to get his mind off his gut feeling, Gohan, Goten, and Trunks spread out amongst the ruin to collect their spoils. They could at least do that without a problem arising.

As Trunks was investigation a crumbling building, he spied a building that had remained untouched by their destruction. It had such a welcoming vibe that the young Aaiyan couldn't resist investigating it rather than the crappy building he was in, which could fall any minute.

The warehouse as Trunks observed, was nothing special from any other human construction, its grey walls and roof blending in with the others. But something was different. This warehouse had no windows and its door slid to the side rather than swung open. Why was this building so different?

Grabbing the door's handle, Trunks slid the door till it could slide no more. Taking a look inside the dull building, Trunks paled. This was not good. He needed to get Gohan _now_.

Spiking his ki several times, to emphasize the importance, Trunks uneasiness grew more and more by the second. Where were those two?

In a matter of seconds, Gohan and Goten arrived on the scene, frowns adorning their faces. It wasn't like Trunks to lose his cool and spike his ki as repetitively as he did. Upon looking at the sword wielder, they noticed his uneasiness and…fear? What had happened for the young Saiyan to experience fear?

Without acknowledging their presence, Trunks pointed into the warehouse, his hand shaking slightly, but enough to warrant the two Son boys their attention. "I think you need to see this," was all he said.

Confusion written on his face, Gohan did as told and reacted much as Trunks had, paling at the sight. This wasn't good. This was definitely not good. Before him stood a large machine, almost as long as the building itself, the components of the monster showing for the entire world to see. The end facing them was a large hole, the firing end of the beast. It stood a good ten feet high, seven feet in width and who knows how long the monstrosity was. Gohan had heard of such a weapon used in the Saiyo-Earthling War. It was the weapon that gave the human's their edge in the space battles.

The Blitz Cannon.

From the look of it, though, the human scientists were trying to minimize it for ground fighting. With a weapon like this in the hands of the humans, the Saiyans were done for, end of story. A growl vibrated from Gohan's throat. Not on his watch. Not with the last breath of air in his lungs would he allow the humans this much power. They were already a threat to the universe, they couldn't be allowed supremacy. No wonder he had that feeling. If they hadn't attacked this place, who knows if they would've survived another year. Would it even be a year?

Balling his fists, erratic energy surrounding them, Gohan unleashed a huge ki blast at the weapon, tearing a large hole in it. Taking their cue, Trunks and Goten joined it the destruction. Pouring ki blast after ki blast, they left nothing of the weapon and its home standing. Not even a shred of it could be found. Although it was a welcoming sight to no longer see the creature, it felt hollow. Who knew whether there were more bases building the cannons. All they had managed to do was delay its induction, buying more time for their kind.

Not even bothering collecting their plunders, nor following caution, they flew from the base at a casual pace, each filled with dread that they wouldn't live to see a day of peace.

The shattering of hope had been the most devastating feeling they had ever felt.

* * *

It had been a week since they had lost hope for their race. Although disheartened with their discovery and the subsequent feeling of hopelessness, they continued with the raids, cautious as usual. Even if they weren't completely into their job, they would be damned if they would die from it. However, the excitement, the rush the raids had given them previously had disappeared. It was as if they were waiting for the end to come.

It was when they were traveling to their next target that they had another encounter with Saiyan kind. As they strolled beneath the canopy of trees, the crashing sound of two men bumbling through the forest caught their attention. Standing behind trees, they watched the scene unfold before them.

Two Saiyans, one covered in his own blood, leaning onto another, the bloody Saiyan's blood covering his companion. It looked as if they were escaping a battle, what that battle was, the young Saiyans didn't know, but they did look as if they could use some help. What else did they have to lose? They were already dead.

Revealing himself from behind his tree, Gohan approached the escapees. "Ya'll need a little help?"

The surprise from the sudden invitation almost caused the two to lose their balance. Luckily, they managed to regain it at the last moment. Turning, they saw the three Saiyans, two of which had black spiky hair in saiyan battle armor much like themselves, the other with lavender hair, carrying a sword.

Gohan stared at them, examining the two Saiyans; the injured one was dressed much like his comrade in armor, his black spiky hair confirming his race. The other…it couldn't be!

"Dad?"

Goku looked back with a puzzled look. "Dad? I have no children. Who are you?"

Gohan's disbelief and rekindle hope vanished. If this wasn't his father, then who was it? He looked just like him, the same armor and everything. He couldn't help but feel he knew this man. It had been too long, but his memory was screaming that he had seen him from somewhere before.

"It doesn't matter who we are. Not anymore anyways. May I ask what your name is?" Gohan asked.

The two men starred back with suspicion, not that Gohan could blame them. It wasn't that long ago that he too held that same look. "Gives us your names and we may give you ours," said the Goku look-alike.

Holding his gaze steady, Gohan answered. "I am Gohan; the two behind me are my little brothers, Goten and Trunks."

As the injured man still looked suspicious, his comrade got a look of bewilderment. That was not the look he was expecting.

"Y-you survived? B-but how? I had heard that you had died years ago with the last surviving prince!" the look-alike exclaimed. His comrade turned his head to his side, looking at his weight bearer.

If Gohan's memory wasn't screaming before, it was now, along with a gut instinct that told him that something was wrong. Narrowing his eyes, he asked with a firmer tone, "Tell me now, what is your name?"

The look of disbelief increased, but something in the man's eyes was off. "You don't recognize me? I am Turles. I used to give your father and Vegeta the news of human troop movements before they were killed!"

Images of his father and the man before him flashed through Gohan's head. That's where he had seen him! It may have been years, but this guy had said he could survive better if he was on his own. He must've been helping his comrade the same way he had helped him and his dead friends.

Goten and Trunks were puzzled. They didn't remember this man at all. True, they were little tykes back then, but they were sure they would have remembered him. Goten took a quick glance at his brother. The look on Gohan's face told a different story from his, though.

"I remember you. What happened? Why did you not seek us after Dad and Vegeta were killed?" Gohan demanded, anger growing in his voice.

Turles didn't lose a beat. "I had heard that the humans had killed a royal and his bodyguard and the only royal I knew of was Vegeta. So I assumed that you were dead too. But now is not the time to be reacquainted. We got a platoon on our ass and if you don't mind, I rather not join Vegeta or Kakarot right now."

Gohan's eyes widen. "How far away?"

Turles thumbed behind him. "The battle was a good couple miles away, however, the distance we put between them and us is erratic at best. Sometimes a half a mile, sometimes a hundred yards."

Gohan nodded, and then turned to Goten and Trunks. "You guys help," he paused before looking at Turles' partner with a questioning look. "Spinak," he filled in. Gohan nodded before continuing, "help Spinak get away. Turles and I will dispatch the followers."

Although reluctant, the two young Saiyans complied, Spinak placing an arm around each of their shoulders for support, and left Gohan and Turles. Gohan looked to his long-lost companion. "You ready?"

Turles nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be," he said before following Gohan toward the on coming attackers.

* * *

Turles was squatting a good fifty yards from the grove that he and Gohan labeled as the ambush point. They spent a good ten minutes setting up a trap before retreating to specific hiding places, a task in mind that had to be done at the proper time. A drop of sweat rolled down his cheek. For his and Gohan's sake, it had to go perfectly.

It wasn't too much later when their prey came strolling in. 'Pitiful fools,' Turles thought. 'You don't just walk around unguarded. Oh well, they won't live to learn that lesson,' a twisted smile appearing on his face.

As the troops reached the middle of the grove, suddenly, many disappeared, a large hole replacing the spot where they once stood. Screams could be heard coming from the hole, slowly dying down. Turles' smile grew. That would be the wooden stakes he had placed at the bottom. These guys would definitely not leave this place alive.

As the rest of the soldiers surrounded the hole, looking in to see if their comrades were okay, a flurry of ki blasts struck them from the side opposite of Turles' spot. Gohan's handiwork no doubt.

Their reaction time was a little faster then what they had anticipated as the surviving soldiers immediately began firing their blitz rifles in Gohan's direction. Perfect, now it was Turles' turn. Clasping his hands together in a position similar to the sign of prayer, Turles concentrated his ki. Within moments, his hands separated, bright energy filling the void left by his separated hands. Turles concentration doubled as he focused his ki into a circle. A smirk appeared on his face. It was officially his turn.

"Kill Driver!" he shouted as he launched the attack, the circle flying at its targets as it increased in size. Upon arrival, anyone touched by the ring of energy was sliced apart. Those who were facing a side of the circle were cut in half. The legs of others being sliced off at the bottom of the ring as the heads or parts of the head for those tall enough to reach the top were cut. As soon as the ring cut through the first wave, it exploded, killing many more soldiers. Without wasting a second, Turles shot head first into battle. It was time for the fun part.

Apparently, Gohan had similar thoughts as he too rushed in to the fray. Human after human fell to their might as they laid their punishment. Everything was going great until a very tall, very fat human enter the grove. His presence was a very unexpected twist, but the Saiyans would meet the challenge head on! Let it be said that no Saiyan shall fear a human of any shape or size.

Taking his turn first, Turles attacked the giant of a man. Using his speed, he caught the man off guard, delivering a light blow to his chest, stunning the man. Using his knee, he knocked him high into the air. Once again using his speed, he raced above the man, floating upside down and kicking his opponent down to the ground. Turles arrived floating above the ground, stopping the man with his knee and then jackhammering him into the ground. Walking up to his fallen opponent, he extended his arm and fired a ki blast at the beaten, defenseless human, sending him to King Yemma in pieces.

By the time he had finished with his opponent, Gohan had finished off the rest of the humans with minimal effort. He stood with his arms across his chest, a smirk on his face. "I see you wanted to impress the giant before you killed him," he said.

Turles laughed. "Oh no. I just wanted to give him proof that Saiyans were superior to humans, no matter what form or how strong their weapons are."

Gohan just continued smirking, annoying Turles a little. "Whatever the reason, you got the job done. Now we better meet up with the others. Who knows how far they've gotten."

* * *

The three Saiyans in question were about a mile from the initial meeting point. Goten knew that they wouldn't be able to get very far with an injured person, but it was frustrating all the same. If only they could risk flying and then maybe they could get a decent amount of ground in between their pursuers and themselves.

Suddenly, Goten felt his brother and the man called Turles's power levels rise considerably with many lower power levels disappearing. Then he felt the two Saiyans drop their ki signals to normal levels. Goten grinned. That was good news. Raising his power level a little, he turned to his two companions and addressed them. "I think we can stop guys. The fighting's over. Gohan and Turles should be heading our way right now."

Trunks nodded as Spinak looked behind them, trying to judge how far away their friends were from the rest of the group. Then a look of recognition covered his face. "Don't stop here," he said. Looking in front of them, Spinak continued, "There should be a cave about two hundred yards ahead. We can stop there."

With little consideration on Trunks and Goten's part, they continued to the cave, arriving about five minutes later. They had almost missed it since the entrance was partially covered by brush. Clearing enough to get inside, they trudge a few feet in, helping Spinak down to the floor. Trunks then went to the opposite wall and leaned against it, comfortable in his choice of wall. Goten returned to the cave's mouth, awaiting his comrades. He didn't have too long to wait as Gohan and Turles arrived soon after, blood splattered lightly on their armor. It had been a good day for killing.

No words were spoken as the three Saiyans walked into the cave, taking their choice in spots around the small cave. All of the Saiyans didn't bother talking. It had been a long day and the need for peace and quiet was being respected to the fullest.

It was about dawn that Turles gave them all a good-bye, claiming to have some other business that had been delayed by the human attack. As night wore on, Goten became restless and decided to explore the cave a little. Walking deeper into the cave, his field of vision decreased substantially, but Goten had no worries, his night vision would kick in, in three…two…

He never reached one as he tripped over some object, landing face first in the stony floor. Raising himself with his arms, his night vision taking over, he identified a small box tipped over on its side by his feet. Now how had that gotten there?

Getting to his feet, Goten picked up the box. He had no idea what was in it, but he felt that he needed to show it to Gohan. Retracing his steps, he came upon his group and showed them his treasure.

"Hey guys. Look what I found."

Turning to look at him, the three Saiyans noticed his box. Where he had gotten it, none of them knew. "What is it Goten?" Gohan asked.

"I don't know. That's why I brought it to you," was Goten's response.

The three sweatdropped. Shaking his head, Gohan returned his answer. "Why don't you open it?"

A grin that hadn't been seen on Goten's face in years creased it. It was as if he was a little kid again. Opening the box, the grin fell as disgust became evident. "All that's in here is a bag." Taking a look into the bag, his disgusted look became more distinguished. "A bag full of beans."

A frown creased Gohan's face. A bag of beans? What was going—?

Gohan's face changed into surprise. Could it be? Reaching out for the bag, Goten placed it in Gohan's hand. Picking one of the beans out of the bag, Gohan got a smile on his face. This was some of the best news that he had gotten in a long time.

"Goten, you really lucked out this time."

Goten gave a surprised look. What was Gohan talking about? "What do you mean?"

Gohan looked to his brother. "Ever heard of a senzu bean?"

The other three Saiyans got looks of disbelief. There was no way they could find senzu beans! The last time any were grown was right before the humans landed on Vegeta.

Seeing their disbelief, Gohan flicked the bean to Spinak. "Try it out if you don't believe me."

Eyeing the bean suspiciously, Spinak slowly placed the bean into his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed. Mere seconds later, his body shuddered and expanded, then returned to its previous state, his wounds all healed. Testing his body out, Spinak was lost in his amazement. What good fortune had he come across in the last few hours!

"I…I feel great!" he exclaimed.

Gohan grinned. Looks like he was right. Boy he had lucked out on that one!


	4. Change

It was morning again and the three Saiyans were on the move. Once again, they had left their company with some food and deserted him. Once Spinak had recovered from his injuries, Gohan had felt no need to care for the man. He was a Saiyan after all; he should be able to take care of himself.

Slowly, morning became afternoon and afternoon became evening. At this point in time, the three had discovered a base not too far from their location in the woods and were in the midst of planning the operation.

"This should be simple for you two, just sneak in and be ready for my signal," an overly irritated Gohan said. They had spent a good hour of the day debating the plan they would use. Gohan had felt that their usual plan was good enough. Unfortunately, Trunks and Goten were not happy with that plan.

"How come you get to do the signal? Don't you think we could ever do it? We could be better then you!" Goten said, Trunks nodding his agreement.

"Every time we do an op, we're always the ones who sneak around and wait for you. Do you know how boring it gets till a sudden explosion erupts?" Trunks added.

Gohan began rubbing his temple with his hand. Geez, these guys were giving him a headache. What was the matter with the way they usually did it? They hadn't died yet, so they must be doing something right. Gohan glared at the two. Why wouldn't they listen to him?

The two saiyans glared back, not willing to give up an inch. They were determined not to back down. If they did now, whose knows how many times they'd have to follow Gohan's every command. What was so hard about a little change anyways? Just this one time was all they were asking.

When Gohan saw he wasn't going to win, he blew out his breath in irritation before giving in. "Alright, we'll do it your way. Goten can do the signal this time."

Goten's face lit up while Trunks' soured. Why did Goten get to be the one who started everything? "What about me? Why can't I do it?" he asked angrily.

Gohan turned to him, answering "Goten doesn't have a sword and your stealth ability is very vital to our success. You can launch the signal next time if it makes you happy."

Although not pleased, Trunks relented. At least he was going to attack first soon.

Giving out a large yawn, Gohan laid down near the small fire. The sky had already darkened until nightfall and it was always best to preserve one's strength before a battle. "I think we should call it a night. Tomorrow's gonna be a busy day."

Trunks nodded and he too laid down. Goten was still elated about the next day, so it took him awhile before he joined his companions in blissful sleep. Slowly their fire died as a chilly wind blew by, the night's sky twinkling with stars. Unbeknownst to the trio, a pair of dark eyes was watching them. Having heard all he needed to know, he slipped away from the campsite into the darkness of the night, forever hiding his presence.

* * *

Beams of light were lighting up the valley as the three Saiyans slept. Soon birds began chirping their morning songs with passion. It wasn't before too long that Gohan awoke, stretching out the kinks his body accumulated during the night. Rubbing out the sleep in his eyes, Gohan turned his attention to the other two Saiyans, who were also waking up. Good. He wouldn't have to be an alarm clock this morning. It wasn't that he minded, but that kind of thing got old fast. He wasn't even going to mention the time the other two wanted to do their best impersonation of said clock. He'd never wake up after those two again.

Almost like a switch being switched on, Goten immediately became eager for their day's activity. Grinning like a hyena, Goten could barely keep in his excitement throughout their meager breakfast and morning exercise, something that was slowly driving Trunks crazy.

"Goten, will you wipe that stupid grin off your face! It's annoying me."

Goten merely responded by sticking his tongue at older Saiyan. "You're just jealous that I get to blow something up before you do."

Trunks growled, slowly inching his had to his sword hilt. His mission was interrupted by Gohan.

"Will you two chill? We've got a lot of work to do today and it'll go a lot smoother if you two wouldn't badger each other." With the two seeming somewhat pacified from his lecture—albeit reluctantly—Gohan continued, "So what's the plan Goten? How are we going to pull this off?"

Momentarily stunned, Goten quickly regrouped. Ever since he and Trunks joined Gohan on these raids, Gohan had force-taught them to be able to strategize, in case the Saiyan ever fell in battle and the two had to carry on without him. It was time to show that he was capable of following his brother's footsteps.

Quickly drawing a crude map of the base in the dirt, Goten pointed at the east wall. "Trunks, I need you to get to the far side over here, traveling along the north wall. Kill as many guards without drawing suspicion." Looking to his friend, he saw Trunks nod in confirmation, his battle face on. "Gohan, I need you to go to the south wall and wait for my signal. I want you to try and time your attack to the same time as Trunks. You're more experienced at timing, so be ready to go when you feel Trunks starting. Everything clear?"

The two Saiyans nodded, their blanks stares almost chilling if it wasn't for Goten being used to them. "We'll head to the base in an hour; we'll split up about a mile away. Get yourselves prepared."

As Goten finished, he looked directly into his older brother's eyes, seeking praise and wasn't disappointed. If Goten didn't know where to look, he would've never caught the glint in Gohan's eyes, showing him how proud he was. Now all he needed to happen was a victory.

As the hour slowly crept by, the battle-hardened Saiyans prepped themselves. Trunks was sitting next to the dead fire, sharpening his sword, fixing the nicks he had accumulated since their last fight. Gohan sat under a tree, meditating. Goten was standing off by himself, looking towards the fort in anticipation, anxious to get the mission over with.

As the hour finally ended, they wordlessly went off into the forest, heading straight to the fort. As planned, they separated about a mile off. It didn't take long for Gohan to get into position, carefully monitoring his comrades. He could sense Goten readying himself for the opening attack as Trunks hacked and sliced his way to the eastern wall. After what felt like an eternity, Goten began the assault.

The shockwaves of the explosion could be felt by the whole fort, drawing their attention towards Goten. Gohan bided his time, anticipating Trunks' action. When he felt his ki starting to rise, Gohan took off into the base, ready for action. Simultaneous explosion shook the base to its foundation soon after.

Panic was running rampant, the humans immediately began to retreat as chaos and confusion ran amongst their ranks. This attack was becoming too easy Gohan felt. Way too easy.

It was then that Gohan ran into his first bit of bad luck. A small force of about eight men began retaliating, driving Gohan away from the base's center. That was not what Gohan wanted. He wanted his little brother's first command to be a success without problem and he would surely make it that, even if he had to blow the whole base into smithereens.

Quickly, he fired a small ki blast at the ground in front of the men. The blast threw a few off their feet, a smokescreen rising in front of the others to stop them from firing accurately. Without a wasted second, Gohan charged head first into the screen, killing the men easily.

However, when Gohan came out on the other side of the smoke, he found himself standing in front of a large ammo dump as it was ready to explode.

Quickly turning around, Gohan ran a couple of steps away from the explosive dump before diving to put some more distance between the two as the dump exploded. Gohan was washed with dust and smoke as he was consumed by the after affects of the explosion. As the blinding screen disappeared, Gohan came face first to the barrel of a blitz rifle.

Staring at him from the opposite end, the soldier smirked. He had the Aaiyan right where he wanted him. Now it was time for him to become a hero.

"Not so tough are you now, dirty monkey," the human sneered, prodding the barrel in Gohan's cheek. Gohan growled. If it wasn't for the fact that if the human managed to get a shot off, effectively ending Gohan's career as a fighter, he would've done away with the pest. Since that wasn't the situation, he had no choice but to take the abuse.

Still sneering at the Saiyan, the soldier spat at Gohan, hitting him above the eye, his spit sliding down his face, over the eyelid and down his cheek. When Gohan didn't respond except for the burning look of hatred, the human decided to end things.

Straightening his posture, he steadied his rifle, taking precise aim, torturing the Saiyan with his control over him. He smirked again. "This is the end for you monkey," as he pulled the trigger.


	5. Tonight

Goten sat in front of the small fire, his arms resting across his stomach, a dejected look on his face. During his whole career of fighting humans, he had never had to lose one of his comrades. It was a sickening feeling. Tears threatening to fall down his tearstained face refrained from doing so. He had lost his brother, the only shred of family he had left. It was only his brother's teachings that kept him from flat out crying. _"__A Saiyan never cries," _Gohan had said_. _He could still remember the moment his brother's ki disappeared, the moment he never thought he would have to face in a million years.

* * *

_(flashback)_

The flames of carnage were sweeping the area as Goten looked on in awe. This was the moment he had dreamed about since last night. The moment he proved his worth to his brother, to show that he didn't always need to rely on his brother's genius. A squadron of men came running around the corner, their blitz rifles held tightly by the men. Without giving them a chance to prepare for an attack, Goten blasted the pitiful soldiers to oblivion, to join their comrades in hell. The unbelievable high of success was intoxicating.

That was when everything went wrong. For a split second he felt Gohan's power level dip a bit before returning to normal. Then a loud snap was heard by the whole base as some kind of accident or something happened. There wasn't a big explosion, but a light tremor could be felt. That was when he felt Gohan's ki signal faded out. Without a second thought, Goten dashed towards the last known location of his brother's ki, plowing through anything and everything. Buildings, creates, barrels, humans, nothing was spared as Goten drove right through them. When he arrived on the scene, he found no hair or hide of his beloved brother. All he could see was a small black area of ground cracked and splintered.

There was no sign of Gohan anywhere.

It was a few seconds later that Trunks arrived, blood splattered on him in much the same way as Goten was. He had been in the middle of taking on a very large crowd of soldiers when he heard the deafening snap and subsequent dropping of Gohan's ki. He stopped playing around and slaughtered the men before doing an impersonation of Goten's mad dash to find Gohan.

The fear that they had lost one of their own slowly dawned on them. As much as they tried to refuse such…such…such blasphemy, the proof was all there. A small burnt area, no body, and no presence of ki only added up to one thing: Gohan was dead and they were all alone now. The humans had taken someone so precious to them, they'd rather destroy the whole universe then suffer being without him.

Cold stares covered their faces. Looking to each other, they slowly lifted themselves into the air flying high above the fort. Whether it was from the lack of men able to fight or men hiding in fear, they would never know as no blitz rifles were fired at them. Each of them held their hands high above their head, gathering a large amount of ki. With a cry of anguish, the two Saiyans unleashed their blasts, incinerating the base, and destroying much of the countryside. When the explosion died down, the smoke and dust slowly blowing away, only a crater would prove itself as evidence that a base once stood there.

Neither Saiyan moved from their respective place, just staring at the dead ground. Neither one knew when it happened, but both Saiyans eventually flew off to their present location, both of them holding back their tears as best they could as their sorrow overwhelmed them.

* * *

_(end flashback)_

As the memory went through his head, Goten let one tear fall down his cheek. Every time that scene played through his head, he couldn't help but nearly lose himself. He had just managed to get a hold of himself the last few times that memory played through him. A couple more times and Goten would finally lose it and fall into a crying fit, that much he was sure of.

Suddenly, a ki popped into existence. Snapping his head up, Goten looked off in the direction of the base, the ki coming closer and closer by the second.

It couldn't be…

* * *

It was to the sound of water crashing on rock that Gohan came to. Slowly opening his eyes, he took in his surroundings. His memory was a little groggy, but he wouldn't let that stop him from making a plan. A plan for what, he didn't know.

In his current view, he could see a waterfall in all of its splendor, roaring like there was no tomorrow, a small pond collecting what ever its mighty cousin threw at it. There was green vegetation surrounding the crystal pond, giving off an unusual vibe to Gohan. He couldn't remember anything about a waterfall anywhere on Vegeta, but then again, he hadn't traveled the whole planet yet.

Not sensing any person with ill intention towards him, he sat up and stretched. That got his attention. He knew that he wasn't bounded now, so that meant the enemy hadn't captured him. But, why was he here then? Nothing was making any sense.

Digging into his memory, he tried to remember his last few seconds of consciousness. It was several moments before the memory he was looking for hit him full force.

* * *

_(flashback)_

Gohan was starring down the barrel as the soldier tightened his grip on the trigger. He could practically see the beam of energy gathering at the base of the gun. Just as Gohan prepped himself for the afterlife, an unexpected thing occurred.

An energy blast came out of nowhere, ripping into the side of the blitz rifle, rupturing the gun's core, causing it to explode. To Gohan, the explosion threw him back several yards, the Saiyan landing on his head, effectively knocking himself out. That was after he saw that piece of trash human incinerated by the rifle's destruction. Just another plus to having Saiyan genetics. He'd have to thank the man who got rid of that asshole. Unfortunately, that was going to have to wait awhile.

The darkness of unconsciousness consumed him as his last thoughts occurred.

* * *

_(end flashback)_

Gohan shook his head disappointedly. There had to be more, there just had to be! He wouldn't be satisfied until he figured out what had happened. Wait…Trunks and Goten! He had almost forgotten about them! He needed to go find them, but that would be next to impossible. They'd never raise their ki without some stimulant. Damn, things just weren't going his way today.

"I see you're awake," a gruff voice said behind him.

Immediately Gohan jumped into a defensive stance. If he was being held captive, he would give his captor one hell of a fight. But wait, if he was being held captive, then wouldn't he be tied up? Brushing aside that train of thought, Gohan studied his opponent, getting the surprise of his life.

Before him, hovering a good two feet above the ground in a meditative position, a tall-looking green man floated, completely at peace with his surroundings. His eyes were closed to further prove that point. It was as if he didn't fear the alarmed Saiyan.

His gruff voice once again spoke up. "You have no need to fear me. I have no intent on harming you."

Dropping out of his stance but staying on guard, Gohan took in the sight of his green colleague. His attire was completely foreign to the Saiyan; a purple gi with a light blue sash, a white mantle and cape, and a white turban nestled on his head. A very bizarre picture to the young man.

"I take it you were the one who brought me here?" Gohan questioned.

"Yes," was the simple reply.

"And I'll also guess that you were the one that blasted that blitz rifle."

"Yes."

There was something odd about this green man. Sure he had heard of green aliens before, but he couldn't place this guy. It was starting to bug him slightly. It was at the tip of his tongue too.

"Would you mind telling me where you come from? It's obvious that you're not from around here."

When no reply came, Gohan's frustration began to reach his peak. Whether this guy was a friend or foe, he was asking for an ass whopping. As he was about to launch into a tirade, the green man answered.

"I am what you would call a Namek."

Gohan's blood froze. Did he say Namek? It couldn't be. The Nameks were supposed to be extinct, the human's giving them their ticket to the afterlife. When the humans had first begun their conquest, the first planet they attacked was a neighboring one called Mars. The Martians were a backwater planet much like Earth, but they were still the strongest in their territory until the humans usurped them. Following the fall of the Martians and the subsequent fall of the Plutonian world, Namek became their next target.

A very peaceful race the Namekians were before the Earthlings came. At first, the Namekians tried to establish peace with them, which the humans accepted in exchange for a military base on the Namekian planet. It was a little more then a year later did the humans betray their green friends. Claiming that an epidemic was ravaging the planet, the humans quarantined all of the Nameks, killing them as soon as they could until they had wiped out the whole race. Apparently they missed one.

Gohan refrained from asking his next question. It wouldn't be good to stir up painful memories when the person in front of him was responsible for his own survival. He decided to take a different line of questions.

"So what brings you here?"

For the first time, the Namekian opened his eyes, revealing his black pupils much like Gohan's. Shifting his eyes to the Saiyan, he eyed him warily before answering. "I had heard that the Earthlings had attacked the Saiyans and that they were still rebelling against them. Since the humans would still be here, I thought I'd have a little get-together with them." A smirk appeared on his green lips. Gohan also couldn't resist his own smirk appearing. It looked like this Namek had some sort of sense of humor.

"So what's your name? I don't want to call you Green Bean the whole time."

The Namekian chuckled. "You may call me Piccolo."

"Well then Piccolo, would you mind telling me what happened to the base after I was knocked out?"

Piccolo dropped his smirk. "Those two friends of yours went nuts when they couldn't feel your ki. The only thing left of the place is a very large crater. Ha, I'd like to see the Earthling try and rebuild there."

Gohan nodded solemnly as he felt a rush of relief. At least Trunks and Goten were okay. Now he just had to find out where they were.

"You wouldn't know where those two troublemakers went to, would you? I'd like to relieve their anxiety."

Piccolo grunted. "I thought you'd want to go see them. I can take you to them right now."

Gohan nodded and waited for the Namekian to stand, taking off into the air once the green giant stood on his feet. The two flew off at about the tree line to remain somewhat camouflaged. Looking at the silent warrior, Gohan had a thought and voiced it. "How'd you like to join our group? We could always use your help."

The Namek didn't reply. After drifting over the trees for several moments, he finally said, "No thanks, Kid. I work alone."

Gohan frowned. Although he had expected it, he still didn't like taking rejection. While Gohan didn't allow other Saiyans to join his cause, due to the traitor, this Namekian didn't have that stigma attached to him. With his history with the humans, the Namek would be the last person to collaborate with them, making him perfect to join Gohan's group. He tried to plead his case. "We could really use your help. Something bad is coming and we'll need all the help we can get."

To his surprise, Piccolo responded rather quickly. "Why don't you join some of your own kind? I'm sure they'd take you up on your offer."

"Can't. There's a traitor among us."

The Namek stopped his flight, jerking his head to the young Saiyan, his eyes full of disbelief. "You're kidding. Someone's helping those bastards?"

Gohan sadly nodded his head. "The surviving Saiyans are being ratted out. It's how we lost my father and the Prince."

Shock was still evident on the Namekian's face. "You also said something bad is coming. What are you talking about?"

As calmly as possible, Gohan answered him. "They've been trying to get their blitz cannon to a more manageable size so foot soldiers can use them."

If it was even possible, Piccolo's eyes widen. "How do you know this?"

"We came across one of their warehouses during a raid. We destroyed it, but who know where they could be building another one."

Piccolo turned away from Gohan lost in his thoughts. It was obvious to see that the Namek knew there was no way he could fight against such weaponry. As far as anyone knew, there was no one who could fight against that kind of firepower.

Using this to his advantage, Gohan pressed his offer again. "You see why we need you? What ever we've been doing isn't working as much as we hoped. We can't trust our own kind and if I'm right about you, you have just as much reason to fight this human scourge."

Slowly, Piccolo regained himself, his unreadable mask placed firmly on his face. Gohan did his best to look sympathetic, if not anxious. Anything that could bring this guy to their force he would do. In a way, it was the only way to make their current future less bleak than it already was.

"Fine. I'll join up with you. But I'll leave when ever I feel like it, you understand?" the Namek said as gruffly as possible.

There it was. A slight glint of hope was barely visible in Gohan's eyes. Had Piccolo not looked in that exact instant, he would have missed it all together.

"Okay, first thing's first. We have to find Goten and Trunks."

* * *

Trunks was sitting under a tree not too far from Goten. He had managed to clean his face to a point, the only evidence of any sorrow was his puffy red eyes. He slowly turned his head to Goten. He knew they needed to get control over themselves. They couldn't afford to continue mourning, not if they wanted to continue living.

Trunks opened his mouth to speak and then closed it. He had none of the right words to say. Gohan was Goten's whole world as much as Gohan's was his. It was like having their reason to live stripped from them. Even when they had lost hope, they carried on. As long as Gohan was there with them to the end, it didn't matter if they had any. Now, though, this was something entirely different.

Just as he was about to try and speak again, a ki popped into existence, catching his attention. A quick glance of Goten told him he felt it too as his head snapped up. It couldn't be…

Slowly, almost excruciating, the ki came closer and closer to them. Had they not been so caught up in the moment they would have felt the other ki with the one they were focusing on. It seemed like hours passed before the man they thought they lost came into sight. It didn't take a second as both Saiyans launched themselves at him, tackling him to the ground, refusing to let go of him in case he was a ghost. Their gibberish mixed into each other as they finally began crying.

"Guys…stop…can't…breathe…air…" Gohan gasped as he slowly turned blue from the death grips the two Saiyans had on him. What could've gotten into them?

Realizing that they were crushing their loved one, they quickly let go of him, apologizing profusely.

As air filled his lungs, Gohan tried to calm down his associates, but wasn't having any luck. It wasn't until Piccolo made his appearance that the two shut up. Their first reaction was to drop into defensive stances with the sudden arrival of the green man, but the calm way Gohan stood kept them at bay as they watched curiously at the new arrival.

Clearing his throat, Gohan began the introductions. "Guys, meet Piccolo. He's the one that saved me back at the base yesterday." Looks of astonishment crossed their faces, as Gohan turned to Piccolo. "Piccolo, these two are Goten and Trunks. I think you can guess who's who."

An amused look came across Piccolo's face. If he were to go off of namesakes, Goten was the boy with black hair while Trunks he assumed would be the one with the lavender hair.

Turning back to the boys, Gohan continued. "Guys, Piccolo is gonna be joining us in our fight. If you have any trust issues, don't worry with them. He has as much reason to fight with us than with the humans."

As this registered, the two Saiyans nodded their heads vigorously. If Gohan said everything was alright, then it was alright.

Grinning from their acceptance, he sat down on the ground, crossing his arms over his chest and closed his eyes, thinking. So far, none of their raids had been too effective at discouraging the humans from making bases in this frontier land. They needed to change tactics mighty fast if they were going to affect anything.

Opening his eyes, he addressed his compatriots. "So far, I think we need to change our strategy. I don't think our little raids have been as successful as we hoped they'd be. Any thoughts?"

For a long while everyone was silent. The wind could be heard rustling the trees, the dead leaves on the ground flipping and flying through the air as the cool breeze gave them the power to travel. Finally, Piccolo came up with a suggestion.

"We should start going after the civilians. If not to attack them, but to gather some kind of information. We need to know exactly what's going on."

Gohan seemed to think about this before he nodded his approval. "I agree. We should first start with gathering information. Between the four of us, only Trunks, Goten, and I will be able to mingle with the dogs," Gohan said as he spat out the last word with distaste. The looks on Goten and Trunks' faces matched Gohan's feelings on the thought but it had to be done.

Crossing his arms and sitting in a meditative state, Piccolo gave his affirmation to the idea. "That okay with me. I'd rather not have to talk to any of those weaklings."

Looking on with envy, Gohan continued with the plan. "I think we should send Trunks in first—to determine if it's safe for us. I'll make a trip after that to try and get as much info as possible." Gohan stopped as he saw the downtrodden look on Goten's face. It almost broke his heart, but he had to keep going. "Goten will make the next one after that. You're better at talking to the younger people then Trunks or I so that'll be your job." Goten brightened at that. He wasn't going to be punished for his messed up op.

Trunks was less then pleased. "Why do I have to go first? Why not you?"

Gohan turned to the oddly-colored Saiyan. "You have a better chance of sneaking around them than either of us. If you somehow get caught, we know you'll be able to get out without much commotion and it'll warn us not to bother with the rest of us."

Trunks was still less then pleased, but he'd do it nonetheless. If they could get rid of the humans, then it was all worth it.

"Good, then rest up. We have a long journey ahead us and we'll need all the resources we have at our disposal. Good night."


	6. Devil

Hey everybody, this is your loyal writer dude ShadowMajin. I've been pondering things for awhile and I was wondering if any of you readers are liking this story. Haven't had much of a response from ya'll so I was curious if you like the story or not. Ya'll let me know, okay?

* * *

Disgusting was the only thought Trunks had as he walked down the paved street. The cobblestone felt hard and uneven to his feet as he walked with the crowd. Identical looking house lined the streets for as far as he could see. The humans had tried in vain to make their own house or shop different from each other with different paints, gardens, and the like. How is it such a hostile race could be so boring?

Trunks took in a deep breath. It had been a solid week before they had arrived in this Kami-forsaken land. When the Saiyans were defeated, the humans had immediately carved out a section of the eastern frontier to call their own as they wiped out the remaining Saiyans on the western front. After clearing out all signs of Saiyan civilization, they built settlements to ensure that they had a "legitimate" reason for staying on the planet. If Trunks had it his way, all traces of human activity would've been wiped out a long time ago.

He continued with his mission. It wasn't supposed to be an information-gathering thing, but he was on the look out for possible means of gathering some. If he ran into anything of interest, he would store it in his memory to tell the others. So far, he had been fruitless.

In order to blend in with the humans, Goten had stolen some human clothing for the three of them to wear. If only that baka would've stolen something more comfortable, his pants were riding up uncomfortably. The black pant he wore were just another inconvenience along with his black shirt and purple jacket. To add insult to injury, he had to hide his tail underneath the foreign garb. The things he did for his people.

However, he was almost done. Just one more section of the settlement to observe and he could get the hell out of dodge. His impatience was almost getting the better of him. Taking a quick look around, he noticed that this section of the town was different from the rest. On one side of the street the same old, same old buildings he had already seen were in precise order; however, the other side was much more interesting. To his left, a low fancy metal fence lined the street side, the fresh manicured grass showing off its majesty to all observers. But it wasn't the grass that caught Trunks' attention. It was the line of stakes sticking out of the ground that had him so captivated for each stake had a head on top of it, dried blood coloring the pole beneath it.

Those heads were Saiyan heads.

Trunks almost lost his breakfast looking at the grotesque sight. Apparently his sickness was obvious since a kind old man, his semi-bald head with the remains of his white hair decorating it and rather dirty clothing approached him. "I know how you feel sonny," the old man said. "Not the most handsome creatures around, are they?"

If Trunks could've killed the man he would've. How could this man be so callous to these desecrated men? Just another reason to wipe the humans from existence.

Putting on a fake smile, he reluctantly agreed. "Yeah, filthy bastards aren't they?"

The old man chuckled. "If you hang around a few more minutes, you'll see the latest batch of those barbarians' heads. Don't know why they insist on wasting the land for it, but it gives us hope that we can get rid of this Saiyan plague."

'Where the hell does this man get off calling me a plague?' Trunks thought, seething the entire time. He'd have to take this man for a walk in the woods very soon, one he'd never come back from.

As he continued his "conversation" with the old man, officials followed by guards holding stake and a head each walked upon the lawn. As the crowd began to crowd around the fence to see the newest batch of Saiyan heads, one of the officials made a brief speech about the successful campaign in the western frontier. One by one, the guards stuck their stakes into the ground, pushing them about an inch further into the ground to insure their steadiness before slamming the bodiless heads onto the stakes.

Anger was welling up throughout Trunks' body. If this madness didn't stop, he would have to put an end to this pitiful village once and for all. However, his rage was dramatically reduced as he saw one of the heads. Before him, perched on a stake was the head of Spinak. Horror consumed him as he stared at Spinak's lifeless eyes. How did they get him? Trunks could've sworn that Gohan and Turles had killed off all of his pursuers. And judging from the distance between the cave and this village, he must have just been caught after they left him to fend for himself. A sickening feeling welled up inside him. This was too much.

Pushing past the spectators, Trunks removed himself from the spectacle that had captivated the humans. What kind of sick race were these people? Reaching what appeared to be a waste container, Trunks vomited into it, ridding his system of the vile feelings building up within him. He had to get out of the village _now_.

Unbeknownst to the Saiyan, two humans had observed his reaction to the "show." One of the humans, a boy with long blond hair that reached to his shoulder blades and arrogant brown eyes watched in disgust. "Looks like that 'cutie' of yours can't stand a little blood."

The smaller of the two, a girl with short blond hair and light blue eyes, slapped the boy on his arm. "That doesn't matter. He must be one of the newbie's from Earth. You of all people should be critical of him. When you first got here, you fainted when they lifted the heads."

The boy stiffened. "That was the only time, Erasa. Will you ever drop that?"

Erasa grinned. "Nope!"

The boy shook his head before taking another look at the vomiting youth, only to discover that the boy had disappeared. "Looks like your dream boy's flown the coup," he observed.

Erasa started looking all around, failing to find her object of affection. "Oh poo. And I was gonna ask him out too," she pouted.

At the end of the street behind the two talking blonds, Trunks was making his getaway from the village. He had enough of this place and he wanted out. It'd be Gohan job to get anything definitive out of this screwed up village.

* * *

Gohan was staring at the village off of a cliff, scrutinizing it. The view he had gave him a bird's eye view of the whole village; East Fort, he believed it was called. So imaginative.

It had been two hours since Trunks had left to investigate and now Gohan was bored. You could only meditate so much before you lost your mind. How Piccolo did it at all hours of the day was beyond him. Must be some kind of intense discipline.

As he admired the view, he felt Goten approach him from behind. "Hey Gohan, Trunks is back."

Gohan turned and nodded to Goten, the latter walking back to their campsite, leading Gohan.

When they arrived, Gohan was surprised by Trunks' mental state. It took a lot to bother this kid, so what ever he found in East Fort was a little too disturbing for the Saiyan.

"So what did you find?" Gohan asked.

All Trunks did was stare straight ahead of him, never blinking. Gohan frowned. Was it that bad?

"Hey Trunks, you alright?" he tried again.

Slowly, Trunks shook his head. "I-it…it was terrible. Those humans…they're so…twisted."

"What happened?" Gohan said, his voice getting sterner.

It took a bit, but the boy finally answered. "They made some sick ceremony with Saiyan heads."

Gohan was puzzled. Was this what was bothering him? "So?"

Trunks looked him in the eye, horror clearly written in his own. "They had Spinak."

Gohan's eyes widened. How was that possible?

Before Gohan asked his next question, Trunks beat him to it. "He must've been captured right after we left him. That's the only way they could've gotten him this soon."

Gohan's mind was working at the speed of light. There was no way the humans knew about that cave. Only the people there could've told them about it and he was sure that neither of them had told anyone of it. That only left Turles. But it couldn't be him. He had to meet up with some of his comrades that night. Could it be that one of those comrades was the traitorous Saiyan? It was the only explanation Gohan had. Turles could've told his friend about the engagement and that man could've sold out Turles and Spinak. But Trunks didn't say anything about Turles being down there. Could Turles have gotten away? As Gohan pondered his inquiries, the rest of the cave remained quiet.

Goten had taken the news as he usually did. Although saddened by the death of a man he once knew, he would get over it quickly. No sense in mourning over someone already dead. Piccolo just remained quiet. He didn't know this Spinak person, but he could tell the others had. It wasn't any of his business, nor did he care. But you never know when this piece of info, no matter how insignificant it was at the time, could be of any importance later on.

It was a few minutes later when Gohan spoke up. "I think I'm gonna take my trip into town now. I don't know how long I'll be, but wait until my return. Understand?"

One by one, the others nodded. Getting up, Gohan went to grab the clothes Goten had so graciously stolen. Getting dressed in the foreign garb, he wrapped his tail underneath his shirt, just as Trunk did earlier that morning. Feeling ridiculous in the brown pants and plain white shirt, Gohan wondered if this whole thing was necessary. Putting that thought aside, Gohan took in a deep breath before setting out for the village, not knowing what horrors he would face.

* * *

Walking along the same streets that Trunks had before him, Gohan was unimpressed. These were the people who defeated them? He was almost ashamed to call himself a Saiyan.

Almost.

However, it was during his observation that he bumped into a person, causing them to fall to the ground. Not that Gohan cared, these were humans; if they couldn't withstand a simple nudge, then they weren't worth the effort to help.

"Watch it buddy! I was standing there!" a loud voice yelled from behind him, which Gohan promptly ignored as he continued his trek further into the village.

This was not taken very well by the agitated human as it stood up and threw a rock at his head. Naturally, Gohan turned around and caught the rock. He would be dammed if he let a human hit him even if he deserved it, not that he did deserve to be hit.

The person he was expecting wasn't what he found. Before him stood a small human girl, her long black hair tied into pig tails and her blue eyes were blazing with anger. Her white shirt and tan pants clung loosely to her frame, hiding her frame from the rest of the world, if not the universe. Gohan just stared back at the girl's angry eyes before dropping the rock and once again ignoring her.

"Hey, you bastard! I was talking to you! You better apologize to me or I'm gonna make sure you're the next body in the morgue!" the young girl shouted.

Gohan still kept on walking. He wasn't afraid of any threat this puny human girl could make, much less do.

* * *

The girl, however, wasn't going to be ignored like some two bit thug. She was Videl Satan for crying out loud! She was the daughter of the man who defeated the Saiyan army at the Saiyan capital! She was practically the most dangerous person in this town. The mad Satan girl stormed after the punk who knocked her down. She'd make him pay for it.

Down the street Videl followed the boy as best she could, trying to catch up with him, but no matter what she did, she never seemed to gain any ground on him. As they were passing the north side of East Fort, a young man came running out of a building reputed to be a place for military inventions. "Everyone clear out! It's gonna blow!" the man shouted. What was going to blow up was beyond the girl, but she didn't have to wait too long as the building behind the man exploded, sending pieces of concrete and brick in every which direction. Videl dove into an alley, seeking cover, losing her sight of the punk she was after.

Unbeknownst to her, the rude man looked into the air as masonry flew everywhere. He had heard the warning like everyone else, and like everyone else, had no ideas what the young man was talking about until the building combusted. As he looked into the air, a particular piece of architecture was heading right for him, ready to crush him under its mass. Not on his watch.

As the masonry neared, the young man balled his fist and punched the spinning block of stone, shattering it. Mission accomplished, or so he thought until a rather large chunk of the shattered masonry nailed him in the head, knocking him out cold. His limp body fell to the ground, a large bruise appearing on his temple.

When all of the debris had fallen to the ground, Videl peeked out of her hiding place. Looking around, she noticed many people were also coming out of hiding. There were shattered remains of what once was a building scattered about the street. There were a few bodies of people who were unfortunate to not seek cover. Oh well, she might as well check up on any survivors.

Walking amongst the debris, she saw many citizens being helped with their injuries. It was just a stroke of luck that she found the boy she was looking for lying amongst the masonry. 'Ha, serves him right,' she thought. Walking over to his body she felt for a pulse and was a little disappointed to find one. That meant that she had to help the son of a bitch. Just great.

Gripping him around the shoulders she tried to lift him from the ground and abruptly dropped him, his unexpected weight catching her off guard. As his body collided with the ground something around his waist caught her eye. From where his shirt was pulled up, there was what appeared to be a long, fuzzy, brown belt wrapped around him. She'd never seen anything like that before. Kneeling down to inspect it, she poked and prodded belt to see if it was indeed a belt. The "belt" twitched suddenly. Videl shook her head. She must've been imaging it. That was when the "belt" twitched again, almost wiggling when she touched it. Videl's eyes grew wide with shock. This thing wasn't a belt at all!

It was a tail.


	7. Open Your Eyes

Thanks to all those who answered my call. Hopefully there will be more interest in this fic down the road.

* * *

'Oh Kami, my head,' was the first thing Gohan thought as he awoke from unconsciousness. He just had to bust that masonry instead of dodge it like any sane person would've, but no, no he had to let his arrogance get the better of him. He deserved the headache for his stupidity. A strange odor found his nose, waking him up completely. In all of his travels, he had never smelled something like this before.

As Gohan opened his eyes, his worst fears had been confirmed. He wasn't in a human hospital or in the middle of a street. He had no idea where he was! And for some reason, his butt was numb and his back felt very stiff, his shoulders angled in an uncomfortable position. Fighting the panic from his mind, Gohan took in his position and surroundings.

As of now, he was sitting in a beat up chair, his arms tied behind the chair top with rope. At least he knew the reason for his body's discomfort now. With half-lidded eyes, so as not to appear awake by his captor or captors, he slowly turned his head, taking in the room he was confined in, finding himself to be completely alone. There were cardboard boxes, with the name of a moving company printed on them, scattered throughout the room. Some boxes were closed with tape while others were opened, their temporary tops sticking up in four separate pieces. Gohan spied a dull white sink with an old fashioned nozzle and knobs off to his left; a dirty mirror was hanging above the sink, giving Gohan a reflection of his face. Turning his head to get a view behind him, he saw what appeared to be a wooden staircase, newly made with fresh wood planks. Although it looked sturdy, it also had the appearance that it could collapse at any time.

The walls around and the floor beneath him were of a solid grey. 'Must be that material the humans call concrete' Gohan mused. Once done with his inspection, he focused on his current situation. The ropes that were securely tied around his wrists held his hands immobile; the multiple wrappings made the bindings bulge with mass. It shouldn't be a problem snapping the ropes; he could do that anytime he wished. The bindings on his legs, holding him to the chair were just like the rope holding his wrists. Whoever this person was who held him captive had seriously underestimated him and they would pay dearly for that.

As his thoughts ended, he heard a door open behind him, footsteps following the staircase to the bottom floor. They were light footsteps Gohan noted. Way too light for a man.

Closing his eyes, he felt his captor's presence walk behind him, coming around his left side and stopping right in front of him. The sound of what Gohan assumed was a chair being dragged on the ground was heard and the presence took the seat, watching him, waiting for him to make the first move. 'Might as well get this over with,' he thought.

The person he saw when he opened his eyes was not what he expected. Before him was a small girl with piercing blue eyes and long black hair in twin pigtails. She was sitting in her chair backwards, her legs straddling the back of the chair, her arms resting on the chair top. The girl watched him with studious eyes, trying to figure him out like he was a puzzle. Who was this girl?

Finally she spoke, "Do you remember me?"

What kind of question was that? "Nope and I'm glad I don't," Gohan replied with a straight face.

Her reaction was what he would've expected, anger writing itself over her facial features, her eyes blazing with fury—just like a typical human. "Well, allow me to remind you. I was the person you knocked down in the street earlier," she said through clenched teeth.

If Gohan thought a little, he could remember knocking a human down earlier, but he really didn't care who it was. This girl must've carried a grudge or something. But wait, binding someone to a chair was a little extreme for just holding a grudge.

"What do you want with me?" he asked.

A little disappointed with his response, but not deterred, the girl pressed on. "I just want some answers from you, like what's a Saiyan doing in a human settlement?" the girl said, almost nonchalant. She grinned widely when she saw the Saiyan paled slightly.

"What makes you think I'm a Saiyan?" Gohan said, shocked by the girl's response.

With the upper hand, the girl smirked. "As far as I know, humans don't have tails…but Saiyans do. Don't try to deny it; I saw it hiding under your shirt."

Gohan's eyes hardened. Well, no use beating around the bush with this one. He remained silent.

The girl continued. "Now if you'll be so kind, tell me what you're doing here. And don't lie, all I have to do is tell everyone you're here and you'll join those friends of yours in the courtyard."

Well that was good news. No one knew he was here. Then Gohan's eyes widen as the implication of her words smacked him in the face. Trunks was telling the truth about those heads! Those…_animals._

The reaction he gave the girl for her threat was not what she had expected. First she saw some form of recognition in his eyes before a burning hatred washed over him, his face twisting in a vile portrait of undying hate.

"So what are you doing here?" she asked.

No response.

"Are you here to destroy us?" she tried again.

Once again, no response.

"Could you tell me your name?" she asked, frustrated.

He remained silent, his anger still evident on his face.

"Will you say something?" she shouted.

"You sick bastards," Gohan finally said, his voice deep and low, hate laced throughout it. "You dirty, rotten bastards."

Although taken back, the girl refused to be talked to that way. "You're the one who's a sick bastard," she retorted. "You're nothing but a dirty barbarian that preys on the helpless."

"At least I don't destroy whole civilizations out of greed," he retorted.

"We've never destroyed any civilization!" she shouted. "We only fight back those who attack us and take the spoils!"

Gohan looked at the girl incredulously. What was this girl smoking? Everyone knew that the humans blatantly attacked anyone they came across.

"What about the Martians?" he countered.

"They were threatening to invade Earth," she responded.

"And the Plutonians?" he shot back.

"To avenge the Martians."

"How about the Namekians?"

"They were diseased and had to be quarantined."

"But did that give you the right to wipe out the whole species?"

"They would've infected the universe if we hadn't," she said, though she lacked the same confidence.

Gohan shook his head. "Your own leaders have been lying to you. You people are so gullible."

The girl shook herself, probably to shake off her doubt. "Hey, I'm the one asking questions here. Now tell me, what are you talking about?"

The Saiyan looked at her with something akin to pity. Really, what else could you look at a self-diluted fool?

"Your race has been nothing but a plague to the rest of the universe since you left your home planet."

"Hey, I told you the Martians were going to invade us!"

The Saiyan shook his head again. "If the Martians wanted to 'invade' you, they would've done it a long time ago. Your people attacked them and wiped them out. Anyone that survived was forced into slavery. The same scenario happened with Pluto. You humans always justified yourselves, but the rest of the universe knows about the truth. The one you humans refuse to accept."

Something about this was wrong the girl seemed to tell herself, trying to convince herself that anyone could fix the facts, even someone like him. This led her to scowled. "If that's right then where's your proof?"

"Do civilized people put heads on stakes? I thought only barbarians did that."

He had her on that one, but she wouldn't tell him that. Before she could retort though, Gohan continued. "You humans are so full of contradictions. You say that you come to a planet in peace, but you stick people's heads on poles celebrating the latest kill as if you had been there yourself. You claim that the entire universe has wronged you, yet you are the first ones to draw your weapons. Your gullibility and stupidity are the laughing stock of the universe and you want people to take you seriously? Respect is earned little girl, not given because you throw a hissy fit and you humans have done nothing to gain the respect of other races. You're just a disgrace, a parasite that feeds on others and despite what you may say, that is what you are. Every single inch of you."

The human girl could only stare at him. That little speech of his was too much for her to comprehend. Disgrace? Parasites? Laughing stock? Was that how the universe really saw them? Not as the victims of a conflict who always came out on top, but as an invading force, ready to devour all that opposed it? Gohan could see all of those thoughts play through her head and on her face. But she couldn't accept that, wouldn't accept it. It couldn't be true she was telling herself. No matter what one person could say or do there had to be some kind of proof that even her people couldn't do without.

And through all of this, Gohan hadn't even wondered why he could read the girl so well despite his lack of social interaction with anyone.

Then in as calm of a voice as she could muster, she spoke "If what you've claimed is true, there has to be some kind of proof. Even my people have to have some kind of record that can prove it."

Gohan just stared at the girl, his eyes calculating. Maybe, just maybe he could use this girl to his own benefit. She had said something about records. If that was the case, maybe he could gets some info on the humans plans and if there was something of importance that could give him an edge, who knows. He might be able to get rid of this human menace that Vegeta had been forced to suffer with for so long.

"Would you know where they would keep such records?" he asked, trying not to sound too eager.

The girl didn't catch it if it did show, or appeared not to notice. "The Mayor of the town should have something like that, but he lives on the outskirts of town. His mansion is supposed to be impregnable. How would you be able to get us in there?"

The Saiyan smirked. "Don't worry about that. I'll take care of it when the time comes," he said confidently.

Against her better judgment, the human girl nodded her head in confirmation. "I'm gonna go get a knife to cut you loose."

Getting up from her chair, the girl walked past her prisoner and towards the stairs, but was stopped by the Saiyan's voice. "Don't bother. There's no need for it."

The sound of the ropes snapping filled her ears, startling her. Turning around, she was shocked to see the Saiyan standing up, rubbing his wrist to ease the burns from the ropes. He started stretching himself, working out the kinks in his body. Popping his neck, Gohan turned to the stunned girl. "Ready to go?" he asked.

Regaining her composure, the girl shook her head. "Before we go, you have to tell me what your name is. I'm not just going to refer to you as no name or some crock like that," she said.

Gohan stared at her, before nodding his head. "My name's Gohan. And yours?"

The girl held out her hand, confusing the Saiyan. "My name's Videl. Videl Satan."

Gohan's blood went cold. Did she say Satan? As in Hercule Satan? The supposed hero of the Saiyo-Earthling War?

Seeing Gohan stiffen, Videl continued her introduction, her hand dropping to her side. "I'm the daughter of Hercule Satan," she confirmed for him, fully realizing the situation.

Hercule Satan was a war hero thanks to his victory over the Saiyan race. Had he not been fighting, it was very likely that the Saiyo-Earthling War would still be raging on, but in outer space rather than the Saiyan home planet. The humans had been told a story of how valiant Hercule was as he single handedly defeated the Saiyan menace, bringing an end to the bloodiest war the humans had ever fought.

It reality, however, Hercule was a clumsy buffoon whose clumsiness had cause the downfall of the Saiyan race. While fighting the "final battle," Hercule was too busy trying to get his gun to fire as a couple of Saiyan warriors surrounded him. As he backed away, he tripped on a rock, causing him to fire his gun not at his enemy, but up into the air, hitting a combatant on the city wall defending the capital. The combatant's body fell off the wall and on to a shield generator that was shielding the city within the wall from the Earthling's artillery batteries. You'd think that the shield would protect against all kinds of weapon fire, but no, it was only made to protect against energy attacks. Lead bullets could go through the shield easily since most Saiyans were immune to gunfire. They'd never expected a bullet-vulnerable Saiyan would be protecting the wall that day and overlooked that insignificant fact until it was too late.

When the shield came down, the humans unloaded every piece of ammo and artillery they had, destroying the south wall and section of the capital. Because of the breach, the Saiyan command fell apart, the city falling into chaos. Every Saiyan began fighting on their own for survival, not standing a chance against an organized human army. It was a cakewalk for the humans to seize control and effectively end the war.

The victory was credited to Hercule, giving the humans a hero, a tangible figure that they could all look up to. Nowadays, every human child wanted to be a Hercule in their own right. Always referring to his bravery and courage as the ultimate form of human supremacy.

This was bad. Videl knew that being the daughter of a war hero had its benefits and its drawbacks. At this moment, it was a drawback and a serious one at that. She wouldn't be too surprised if Gohan tried to kill her where she stood. His display of breaking his bindings proved that she couldn't stop him even if she wanted to.

Restoring himself to his cool, collect persona, Gohan decided to move past the introductions. "So where is this place we're going?"

Seeing his attempt to move on, Videl gladly accepted it. "We have to go a mile to the north. We can't possible miss the mansion."

Gohan nodded. "Fine. Let's go."

* * *

The village people were whispering. They had thought that hell would've frozen over long before they would've seen this day. The young Videl Satan was walking in the company of a boy. True the boy was handsome enough for people to see why, but why now? Why would Videl just out of the blue decide to be seen around a boy without some kind of company, namely her best friend Erasa?

That and there was something different about the boy. What ever it was, they couldn't put their fingers on it, but there was something definitely different about the boy. His posture, his looks, everything about him screamed different.

And that was how one boy with long blond locks found Videl,_ his _Videl, that morning. He had tried for months just to get with the girl alone and every time she denied him that which he sought. Then, out of the blue, some punk comes out of nowhere and steals what was rightfully his. He wasn't gonna let this transgression go without punishment.

Carefully hiding his anger, the boy stormed after the couple as they headed to the north side of the village. "Hey Videl! Who's the guy you're with?" he yelled from behind them.

Videl took one look at the boy before scowling. "That's none of your business Sharpner. Now go away. I'm not in the mood to deal with you."

Sharpner was taken aback. Videl had never snapped at him like that before. Turning his gaze to the young man that Videl was with, his eyes blazed with fury. This punk must've had something to do with this.

"I don't think I've ever seen you around before. Who are you, Boy?" Sharpner said demandingly.

The punk looked at him with his dark eyes as if he was staring into his soul. His face scrunched slightly with disgust. "I don't give out my name to scum like you," he said with a little venom.

Well that wasn't the response he had expected. Looking at the guy, you would think he'd crumble at the slightest bit of aggression.

"Hey, I've been here a long time newbie and I'm the only guy worthy to be seen with Videl. So why don't you just crawl back to that little hole you came from and not mess with the best."

The punk's eyes took a peak at Videl, who was steaming at the comment, before looking back at Sharpner. "Why don't you go tell that to someone who cares?" he said before turning away and continued on his way north. Videl glanced at Sharpner once through her scowl before following her companion, leaving Sharpner in a state of shock. No one but Videl ever talked to him like that. He clenched his fist. And he would be the last to do so.

Not caring about keeping his cool, Sharpner ran after the two, seeking his retribution. He caught up to them at the end of the street, balling his hand into a fist and throwing it at the punk.

As his fist closed in on the back of his target's head, the young man ducked the punch, grabbing Sharpner's forearm with his right hand and pulled the arm to continue the punch's momentum. He then swung his leg into the back of Sharpner's knees buckling them and finished the boy by using his left fist to backhand the boy in the face, letting go on the forearm and sending the blond boy into a building on the other side of the street, crashing through the wall as if it was made out of paper.

* * *

Gohan scowled in fury. By all rights he should've killed the human on the spot for such a trespass. If it wasn't for the fact that he wanted his Saiyan presence to remain unknown, he would have. But for the time being he would settle for that piece of artwork. He would just have to get out of town fast before news spread of his "talent."

Videl stared in shock as Gohan knock the stuffing out of Sharpner. Sharpner was supposedly the second strongest fighter in the village, after herself of course, and after watching Gohan take him out with a simple backhand, she really had to think about how strong her "friend" really was. True she had seen him snap rope easily enough but to send a boy through a wall at least fifteen feet away was…madness.

The two left the town as soon as possible. By the time they had, word had spread about the incident. Many people had theorized that due to the mysterious boy's strength, he had managed to win Videl affection, which made complete sense. Others thought the boy was forcing Videl into her present circumstances because of his insane strength. And yet, others thought Videl had finally decided to start having an interest in boys. What ever the reason, they weren't going to say it to either Videl or Gohan. They didn't want to end up like Sharpner.

Not at all.


	8. Everything Changes

**"Welcome to the House That Cash Built"** a plaque proclaimed on a brick column.

Staring past the fence, Gohan could agree that cash built this place. The "mansion" looked more like a medieval castle rather than a house. Tall towers spiraled out of the main gallery majestically, its grey stone dulled over time. Brightly colored flags waved proudly in the wind on top of the towers. Stained glass windows could be seen at different levels. Surrounding the "mansion," a tall brick wall with columns at even intervals made the shape of a square around the perimeter with a metal gate causing a break in the masonry, protecting the entrance of the driveway.

Well, you couldn't say the humans didn't feel at home.

According to Videl, the official, or mayor as she called him, was a man by the name of X. S. Cash. Apparently a favorite of Hercule, he was given the job as the town leader mostly because Videl lived there. The man had no governing experience prior to his current position. Gohan shook his head. The way humans played politics was a completely different animal, one he didn't really want to find out about.

"So, how do we get in?" Gohan asked staring at the gate.

Videl turned to him with an incredulous look. "I thought you were supposed to think of how to get us in."

Staring mesmerized by the structure in front of him, Gohan paid little heed to Videl. Suddenly, something reflecting light caught his eye. There, on the left side of the gate, an intercom, gold plated to stick out like a sore thumb. How convenient. Staring at the intercom, Gohan formulated a plan. When he liked what he saw, he approached it, pressing one of the buttons when he arrived.

Videl looked at Gohan confused. What was this guy doing? She thought they were supposed to be doing this without people knowing. Then he goes up to announce they're out here. What was this guy thinking?

After a moment, a voice came over the speaker. "Please state your business," a monotonous voice said.

Clearing his throat, Gohan said, "I have a message from Videl Satan to the Mayor X. S. Cash. She said it was urgent."

A second passed before "Just a moment please" was heard. Suddenly, the gates began to open slowly, the sound of well-oiled gears working was a blessing to Gohan. He had heard a metal gate open once and let's just say that was a bad experience for him.

Walking through the open gates, Gohan followed the driveway to the large wooden front doors, Videl hurrying behind him.

"I thought we were supposed to go in unnoticed," she hissed.

Gohan looked at the girl with amusement. "Girl, if you knew how many times I faked a mail delivery just to get into one of your bases, you'd die from shock."

Videl stopped walking, a shocked look on her face. Were her people that stupid? The mayor she could understand since no Saiyan had been seen in the area since the humans won the war, but to hear the soldiers doing it without hesitation was shocking to say the least. Waking up from her reverie, she ran to catch up to Gohan, who was nearly to the door.

She caught up to him just as he opened the door. If the outside had been captivating, the inside was even more. Opening to a waiting room, the two walked in, their feet clashing against marble floor and echoing throughout the whole room. A strip of red and gold carpet ran along the middle of the floor, chairs and suits of armor stood against the wall with small tables with plants sitting on top of them. The pale marble coloring greatly brightened the room as a golden chandelier hung directly in the center of the room. Gohan looked at Videl. "You people have to go all the way with your decorations, don't you?"

However, the look on Videl's face was not happy. How the hell could this crony of her father have such an expensive place when the rest of the town looked more like a poor ghetto? She was going to have some words with this Mr. Cash once her original business was concluded.

Just then, a set of doors opened, revealing a well-groomed man wearing a suit that a butler would wear. "How may I help you?" he asked with a thick accent. An accent of what, Gohan didn't know and he could hardly understand the guy. Hopefully Videl could.

Guessing that the butler guy wanted to know their business, Gohan replied "We have a message for Mayor Cash that he needs to see at his own leisure. However, our more important business lies with the estimates of last year's wheat crop. If you would be so nice as to take us to the room where the records are kept, it would be greatly appreciated." As Gohan spoke, Videl gave him a weird look. Apparently she was still under the impression that they were delivering an important message from her.

"Right this way, sir," the heavily-accented man said, leading the two down multiple hallways similar to the waiting room until they reached a wooden door with a metal ring sticking out as a doorknob. Pulling the ring, the door creaked opened, the hinges protesting, making Gohan almost wince from the shrillness. "The records are in the filing cabinets. I shall leave you to take care of your business," and with that, the butler left the couple.

"Don't tell me it was this easy," Videl said her face full of disbelief. Gohan chuckled a bit from the girl's response before looking into the room and grimacing.

"In case you didn't notice, there are a lot of filing cabinets in here and I don't think the guy wanted to help us out with the mess," Gohan said as he disappeared into the room.

Walking in herself, Videl understood Gohan's reasoning. Every single wall of the room was covered with metal filing cabinets. About the only place that didn't have a cabinet was a small desk by the door with a book sitting neatly on top of it. Immediately, Videl began looking through the book to see if it mentioned anything of interest to the two snoopers. Gohan, on the other hand, was busy looking at the floor, trying to find something.

It was nearly ten minutes later, and many pages found useless by Videl, when Gohan suddenly exclaimed "I found it!"

Startled, the girl turned around to look at the Saiyan as he was examining a certain section of cabinets. Grabbing a handle, Gohan pulled on the cabinets, swinging a set of them away from the wall, opening a separate room. Videl turned to Gohan amazed. "How did you know about that?"

Gohan looked at Videl with a glint in his eye. "When I first began fighting you humans, I was sent in to investigate what ever military compound my comrades and I were going to attack. You're such a predictable race that it didn't take long to figure out how you would organize your bases and whatnot. Eventually, I stopped investigating because it was like going to the same place over and over. Now look at the ground," Gohan said as he pointed to the ground. "Notice how the floor is covered in dust heavily except in this part of the room. That shows that this is recently settled dust, meaning that something keeps sweeping the old dust away. Understand?"

Videl slowly nodded her head. It was a little scary to know that she could be so easily predictable. She'd have to change that the next time she was home.

Walking in to the room, Videl noticed that the hidden room wasn't much different from the one she had just been in except there were only a few cabinets in the back corner of the room. Gohan stride purposefully to the cabinets, opening one and looking through it before tossing a file to Videl.

Videl caught the file and gave him a questioning look. "Well, read it," Gohan said, watching her with emotionless eyes. Taking a look, she read a few reports concerning a few matters on Namek. Videl's eyes grew wide. This thing was saying there was a genocide of the Namekian people just so a military base could be established without resistance in the uncertain future. Videl looked up at Gohan who wore a grave face. "Why is this here?" was the only question she could come up with.

Gohan sighed. "Apparently this Cash guy was involved with the matter. His signature is at the bottom of every single report."

Taking a quick look, Gohan proved to be a hundred percent true. If this was what really happened on Namek, then there was no telling what other atrocities her people had committed.

She heard papers being rustled from Gohan. While she had been in deep thought, Gohan had turned his attention back to the filing cabinets, digging for some more proof no doubt she thought bitterly.

Gohan continued his searching for the next five minutes, never letting up. It seemed like this Cash had a thing for star stickers, covering every manila folder with a couple stickers. Some had green stars, others red, some yellow and so on. Looking through each file, he couldn't find anything that would be of any importance. Every file had something to do with a shady dealing or something, nothing that Gohan cared about. Suddenly, a folder stuck out to him. Of all of the folders, this one had a couple blue stars on it. Taking a look, Gohan smirked. This is what he needed to know.

Taking a peak at Videl, who seemed a little miserable at the moment, he quickly stuffed the file under his shirt. Turning to the distraught girl, he said "You had enough or do you want more?"

Videl looked at the file in her lap. Although it only spoke of one incident, it was still mind numbing. How could her race be so destructive? It was like taking a look at a picture and becoming disgusted with it. How could she go back and look at everyone with a straight face and continue living that lie?

"Yo, Videl, you in there? We have to get out of here," Gohan said, breaking her concentration. The look on the girls face was so lost. However, Gohan remained emotionless. He'd lived way too long in this world he'd open her eyes to; he would show no sympathy to those who wronged him. "Are you coming or what?"

Videl slowly nodded her head. Hanging on to the file, she followed him out of the room, waited for Gohan to close the door and headed out of the record room.

Only to run into several guards, each holding a blitz rifle.

Standing in the middle of the hall, Gohan and Videl found several guards to either side of them, filling up each end of the hallway.

After a few minutes of waiting for the guards to make a move, a small, chubby man wearing a rich-looking suit and a monocle approached the couple from their left, a cigarette pipe with a burning cigarette sticking out of his mouth.

"Well if it isn't Miss Videl. A pleasure to finally meet you. How is your father by the way?" the pompous man greeted, blowing smoke out of his mouth.

Videl just glared. Here was one of the men responsible for shattering her world, hiding away the truth from his very own people. "Can't say I can return that pleasure," she stated tartly.

"My, my, such a harsh tongue. And we only just met! How could you be so rude young lady, especially in my own home?"

Videl's glare intensified. "How is it that you're able to live with such lavish surroundings and everyone else isn't?"

Cash laughed. "Quite simple my dear: I had the money to do so while everyone else didn't. Truly, what do they teach you children these days?"

"What's the meaning of this armed brigade, _Mayor_?" Videl demanded. "Don't you think it'll make you look bad to be holding one of your friend's daughters at gunpoint?"

"Well, it wouldn't be necessary had you not tripped one of my alarms. Apparently, you two got into a room you were not supposed to be in and I believe that file in your hands is proof enough. I doubt that's all you've taken so give me everything you've taken or I'll have to shoot you."

"You can't do that!" Videl exclaimed, clutching the file tightly. "What do you think the rest of the town will think if I wound up dead?"

Cash smirked. "Simple my dear, I'll just say you two were attacked by a Saiyan. Kami knows that they could appear anywhere nowadays."

"But there haven't been any Saiyans here since the war ended! You can't possible use that excuse!"

"You have a point dear," Cash said as he blew out smoke. He stared calmly at the ceiling before grinning. "I'll just say that young man beside you did it and that my men killed him on sight. Care to argue that one?"

Before Videl could answer, she felt Gohan's hand on her back, pushing her down to the floor roughly. Without wasting a second, Gohan extended both of his arms, one pointing down one way of the hallway, the other in the other direction. Giving out a cry, he fired what appeared to be bright golden lights from his hands, the light rushing down the hallways, killing all who touched them. Videl could hear the cries of agony as men were killed. So these were the deadly lights the old veterans always talked about...

Once the ki blasts had done their job, Gohan stopped pouring the energy into them. Scattered throughout the hallway, bodies of dead guards smoldered. Cash was lying on the floor; a large chunk of his left shoulder was missing, the burned flesh preventing the loss of blood. He was breathing in ragged breaths as he clutched his injury. Upon hearing footsteps, he looked up to see Gohan staring at him with emotionless eyes.

"P-p-please don't kill m-me! I-I'll give you what ever you want! Just don't k-kill me!" the man pleaded.

Gohan continued staring at the old fart. His first impulse was to cast this man into hell with the rest of his elk that Gohan had killed. However, he thought of something more poetic. Crouching down, Gohan stared into the eyes on the frightened man. "I'm not gonna kill you old timer," he said bluntly.

A look of relief crossed Cash's face before Gohan delivered a chop to his neck, knocking the man unconscious. Picking up the man's dead weight, Gohan turned around to see the wide eyed look on Videl. Gritting his teeth, he said "Well don't just sit there! We have to get out of here!" With that said Gohan turned around and headed off down the hallway.

Snapping back to the world around her, Videl got to her feet, still clutching the file and hurried after Gohan. It didn't take long for them to run into another group of guards, which Gohan took care of without much problem, though he had to jerk Videl out of the line of fire so she didn't get shot before blowing the men to kingdom come.

After a few more run-ins with the guard units, and subsequent destroying of the building, they managed to get out of mansion, but they didn't rest there. They continued their escape until they were outside of town, looking down upon it from a hill lined with trees. Dropping the still unconscious man's body to the ground, Gohan sat down, weary from their escape, Videl joining him a few seconds later.

There was silence between the two until Videl spoke up. "What are you gonna do with him?" she asked.

"Nothing you should worry about," he answered.

Videl jumped to her feet. "What do you mean by that!" she yelled. "That man deserves to be taken in and have justice done upon him!"

"And that justice will come. That I can assure you," Gohan replied. "No punishment that your people could come up with would be as adequate for what I have in mind."

Not willing to fight about this, Videl plopped onto the ground again. Slowly, she looked up to Gohan, studying his face. At the moment, Videl was feeling something funny. What it was and how it happened she didn't know, but as she continued to study Gohan, the feeling grew stronger.

Gohan turned to look at the young girl. "What?" he asked.

Without warning the Satan girl leaned towards him, her face close to his as she continued to study him. Reading her face, all Gohan could tell was that she was debating something within herself. It didn't take long for her to come to a decision as she leaned in closer and kissed him.

Shock was the first thing Gohan felt. As the feeling died down, he returned the kiss, not being one to back down from anything. After a few seconds, they separated looking into each others eyes. Simultaneously, they turned to look at the sleeping village.

After some time, Videl spoke up. "Sorry about that. I can be impulsive sometimes."

It was a few moments before Gohan replied. "I didn't mind."

They continued to sit in silence, still staring at East Fort, their minds off in their own little worlds until Gohan yawned.

As if that was some kind of cue, they both stood up and stretched their bodies, fatigue slowing down their minds. "You want to spend the night at my place?" Videl asked, still looking towards the town.

"I have some business to take care of with tubby over there," Gohan said, indicating Cash.

"Will you come by after you're done?"

"Sure."

"I'll leave the door open. Just let yourself in," Videl said before walking down the hill. As she reached the bottom of the hill, she turned around to see Gohan still standing in the same spot. Smiling a little, she gave him a small wave, which he returned before continuing on towards the village.

When she finally entered the town, Gohan turned around and picked up Cash before flying off to the campsite.

It took only a few minutes, but Gohan finally reached the cliff, landing on it and walked towards the cave. As he neared the mouth, he heard a gruff voice ask "What took you so long?"

Turning around, he saw Piccolo sitting beneath a tree in his traditional meditation pose.

Gohan smiled at him before saying "I've got a present for ya," which resulted in Piccolo raising his eyebrow.

Dropping his cargo, he went into the cave, woke up the two sleeping Saiyans from within and returned with them fully awake.

"I've got some news guys," Gohan started. Removing the file from under his shirt, Gohan held it out for all of them to see. "In this file, I've got all the information we need to make our next strike hurt." The grins that appeared on Trunks and Goten's faces became contagious as Gohan began to grin too. "We'll move out in the morning. Everyone get their rest. You're gonna need it."

Before anyone moved, Gohan turned to Piccolo. "Wait a second Piccolo. There's someone I want you to meet."

Turning again, Gohan walked over to the still unconscious Cash, crouching in front of him before slapping his face, awakening the man with a start.

"Ahhhhhh!" Cash screamed, holding his face. Not recognizing his surroundings, he looked around until his gaze fell upon Gohan. Cash paled. It wasn't a bad dream as he wished it was. It was all real. Suddenly, Gohan spoke.

"Hello Mr. Cash. I'm glad to see you're awake. I'd like for you to meet a friend of mine. Piccolo!" Gohan called out. Slowly, the Namekian walked over to Gohan and stared at the human in front of him, his piercing gaze looking him over. Cash immediately recognized what Piccolo was and began to sweat nervously.

"Piccolo, I'd like you to meet Mr. Cash. I found a few files at his house earlier today, one of which I think you'll find interesting."

Cash jerked his head to look at Gohan with horror as his face paled. "Apparently, Cash here was in charge on Namek years ago and I was hoping you two could get aquatinted with each other."

Piccolo grinned. He liked the way Gohan was thinking. "Yes, I'd like that very much." Striding over to the horror stricken Cash, he grabbed the man by the back of his shirt and began dragging him into the woods.

Cash finally found his voice as he began crying out "Please don't do this! Help me please!"

All he got in return was Gohan waving back and calling out "You guys get along now, ya hear!"

Piccolo stopped his death march, turned his head towards Gohan, and replied "Oh, you can count on it," then continued his march into the woods.

That was the last time anyone ever saw Cash again.


	9. Crawl

It was a bright early morning in the village of East Fort. The sun was shinning, birds were chirping, people were talking to each other about the newest gossip and so on.

Too bad Videl was in too bad of a mood to notice.

That bastard of a Saiyan had ditched her. He had never even stopped by her house after she had last seen him. After everything they had been through the previous day, you'd think he'd want to talk to her about everything, help her accept everything she had learned. Obviously he didn't, otherwise Videl wouldn't have been walking down the streets like a scorned lover. If she ever got her hands on him, she would make him pay.

Unfortunately, it wouldn't be so easy. The Saiyan easily had half a day's head start on her in any direction. But that wouldn't stop her. She'd find him sooner or later, and when she did, she would shove her foot so far up his ass, he wouldn't be able to walk normally for the rest of his natural life.

And that was one of the nicer thoughts she had.

She could admit to herself that, no, she didn't want to kill the Saiyan that had mysteriously gotten some of her affection. She did, however, want to maim him in anyway possible. It was almost bordering an obsession with her.

But the first thing she had to do was think smart. From what she heard of Saiyans, they had a tendency to attack human forts out in the western side of the planet. All she would have to do was keep her ears open for any news of a Saiyan with his description to pop up and she'd have an idea of where he was going. She knew she wouldn't be able to find him with just that first clue, but if she could get a couple more attacks, she would have an idea of where to predict his next attack. Then, and only then, she would have him.

As Videl shifted around in her dark thoughts, her friend Erasa came running up to her, a wild look in her eyes. "Videl! Videl!" she shouted out as she ran towards the dark-haired girl, interrupting her thoughts and bringing her back to reality.

Seeing the panic on Erasa's face, Videl immediately knew something was wrong. What it was, she didn't know, but she was sure Erasa would tell her. She always did.

Stopping in front of Videl, Erasa bent over, her hands on her knees, breathing deeply and raggedly from her run. Between gasps of air, Erasa managed to string some words together. "Videl…have…you heard…the news?"

Shaking her head, Videl replied "No I haven't. What's up?"

Finally regaining her breath, a bewildered look crossed Erasa's face. "The mayor's house was attacked last night! Eyewitnesses say that it was the work of a Saiyan! Videl, why would a Saiyan come out here?" the girl exclaimed as fear consumed her.

Videl's eyes grew wide. She hadn't thought about what the consequence the whole fight with the mayor and what reaction the village would have on it. Almost stuttering nervously, she said "I wouldn't know why a Saiyan would be here. What happened?"

Erasa launched into full gossip mode, spewing everything she knew. The crumbling walls, the dead bodies, the mayor missing, everything! Videl, to her credit, managed to pretend shock and worry, especially about the mayor. She didn't know what Gohan did with him, but she was sure the guy wasn't among the living anymore. However, the description of the attackers caught her attention. The surviving guards claimed that there were not one, but two Saiyans involved. Figuring that her black hair was mistaken for a Saiyan's trademark locks, she didn't argue with the statement. The less people knew the better.

It was in the midst of this intense story that a heavily injured Sharpner managed to make his way to the girls. Walking with crutches, his left leg in a cast, a neck brace keeping his head from moving very much, a tended busted lip, and a fully developed black eye completing the picture, he reached his two friends, albeit exhausted. It only took one look from Videl to send her into laughter. She knew Gohan had done some damage, but this was not what she expected when she saw him again. Erasa managed to keep her composure a bit better than Videl, but when she eyed the leg cast, she couldn't help but want to write on it. Pulling out her purse, she dug around in the seemingly deep pit and found the marker she was after. Without even asking for permission, she immediately began to write and draw on the cast, Sharpner not even caring.

"I guess you two were talking about the mayor's house, right?" a very subdued Sharpner said.

Managing to regain her composure, Videl managed to answer "Yeah, we were."

Sharpner didn't say anything, almost as if he was thinking of something. Finally, he worked up the guts to say what ever was on his mind. "Would you happen to know anything about that, Videl? You were heading that way with that _guy_."

Videl narrowed her eyes. "What are you saying Sharpner? Are you saying I had something to do with that?"

Sharpner shook his head as best he could with the neck brace. "All I'm saying is that you two were headed in that direction. I was just curious if you saw the attack."

Erasa's head popped up at the mention of "the guy." "Vi, who's this guy you're talking about?"

Videl scowled. "Just a creep who wanted to prove something to me. He ditched me afterwards, so I'd rather not talk about him thank you very much."

Sharpner brightened at that remark. "So you two aren't going out?"

It became deathly quiet. "If you don't want that beating that Gohan gave you to seem like a love tap, I suggest you never, _ever_ say that again," Videl said through clenched teeth.

Cowering as best he could, Sharpner nodded meekly. Erasa just watched curiously. She had never seen her friend act like this before. Sure, she'd seen her have bad reactions to such questions before, but this one was a little more intense than the others.

Without another word, Videl left the group. She had arrangement to be made and the sooner she got them done the better.

* * *

It had been nearly two weeks since the stop at East Fort. It had taken awhile, but they had managed to reach their destination. Overlooking the large military installation, Gohan and Piccolo plotted their next plan of action. After Piccolo had his field day with Cash, they had set a southern course to the human base that sat securely on the cape. They knew they needed to make a flawless plan if they were going to pull this op off. This was bigger then anything they had done thus far and one little mistake could get them all killed.

Turning to his green counterpart, Gohan suggested "Split up?"

Nodding, Piccolo answered "That would be wise."

"Two teams."

"Trunks and Goten. You and me."

"We'll attack by land. The other two will attack from the sea side."

Looking at Gohan with a curious expression, Piccolo hinted at Gohan continuing. "We'll practically draw the brunt of their defenses and between the four of us, we're the only two who stand a good chance at surviving. Trunks and Goten will be able to sneak around the base and while we draw their fire, they'll be able to attack from behind."

Piccolo nodded before turning back to look at the base. "When do you want to do this?"

Gohan also looked out at the base before replying. "Tomorrow evening. We've traveled way too much to be in good condition. We'll rest before we attack."

Piccolo didn't reply. It was true that they had traveled a good distance to get here. They probably were more exhausted from the traveling rather than the "obstacles" they ran into along the way; that is if you could call them obstacles. They had only run into one base and a few patrols, which they didn't have to break a sweat to overcome. Hell, they had to do late night training just to give themselves a decent workout. It seemed these east side humans weren't as challenging as the western side. They probably sat all day just twiddling their thumbs unless they were called to scrub toilets or something. Oh well, there were a few less people lining up for that job now.

"This is going to sound useless, but get some rest. We're gonna need it," Gohan said as he turned around to head back to camp. Piccolo just remained where he was, watching the base as adrenalin began rushing through his veins. He was going to enjoy this enterprise.

* * *

The day of attack couldn't come fast enough for the four fighters. Slowly, the sun rose in the heavens before making its descent into dusk, a half moon replacing the brilliant ball of light with its tiny companions, the stars. Wordlessly, they set out to their positions; Trunks and Goten were making their way to the opposite side of the base along the beach and Gohan and Piccolo setting up yards away from the base. As the moon reached its peak in the sky, new lights brightened the sky.

Fuel tanks to the inland side of the base were suddenly ignited, a fiery holocaust replacing them as beams of light raced pass the burning ball of fire, creating more explosions.

Walking at a steady pace on the concrete surface, Gohan and Piccolo blasted all they could see and all that opposed them. Buildings crumbled, armories enveloped in flames, jeeps of men blown through the air, crashing as their remains landed on the ground. Everything was going as planned.

And just as planned, the humans began to regroup and started firing back at their attackers, their blitz rifles sizzling the air. Fortunately, their aim was off, allowing the two invaders to continue their dominance.

Seconds later, more explosions rocked the alerted base from the back side, startling the men and allowing the two invaders to kill them where they stood. Everything was going perfectly.

* * *

Screams of men could be heard as they were incinerated. It was glorious, this feeling of actually accomplishing something. If Goten could have continued feeling this feeling for the rest of his life, he would have. Seeing a jeep of reinforcements making a beeline for him, he unleashed a ki blast that blew the truck twenty feet into the air flipping, landing top down, and crushing any survivors.

Trunks was also enjoying the rush as he raced towards a regrouping regiment. Without hesitation, he drew his sword, slashing and slicing through all that opposed him. No one was standing once Trunks made his initial pass, most of them lying in pieces on the ground.

However, the further into the base they got, the further away from each other they got. It was then the humans managed to get back on their feet and fight back. Slowly, Trunks and Goten gave up ground, running into each other. They had expected some kind of resistance earlier on, but the amount of blitz beams being fired at them was way too much for them to handle.

As the two Saiyans focused all of their attention on the blitz beams, they never noticed the small metal sphere that landed at their feet until the last second. Suddenly, a bright flash erupted in front of Goten and Trunks, flinging them across ruined building and rubble. Both Saiyans landed on the ground, skidding a couple feet after impact.

From the way that blast felt, it was like being hit with multiple blitz blasts at the same time. But humans didn't have that kind of capabilities. What was going on?

That was the last thoughts that Trunks and Goten had as they both slipped into unconsciousness, their foes approaching with their blitz rifles, aimed directly at their heads.

* * *

Gohan snapped his head in the direction of the sea. He had just felt Trunks and Goten's kis drop dramatically. He could barely feel them as it was. Worry settled upon him. He had to get to those two as soon as possible.

Just like the incident with the two younger Saiyans, Gohan became distracted by his thoughts, never seeing the small sphere landing a couple feet away. Piccolo did though, and before he could shout out some kind of warning the sphere detonated, flinging Gohan several feet away. Rushing to his partner's aid, Piccolo turned his back to his enemy, causing a blitz beam to blow off his arm. Crying in pain, Piccolo skidded across the ground stopping a few feet from Gohan's wounded body.

Slowly raising himself to his feet before falling onto his stomach, Gohan began coughing out blood. That had been the most painful thing he had ever felt. Even when he had found out about Piccolo's unique attributes during a spar, he had never felt as beaten as he was now.

It was while they trained themselves on the way here that Gohan learned about Piccolo's ability to stretch his arms. He had just thrown the Namekian and was surprised to not see him rushing back to attack. That earned him a punch to the face via Piccolo throwing a punch and it extending to his face. That among the other sparring scars had hurt like hell. Looking at his green friend now, he could say that he wasn't looking all that great either.

How had everything gone so wrong?

Staring at the humans as they raised their rifles, Gohan prepared himself for the blasts that were sure to come. He wouldn't close his eyes in defeat like some people were apt to do. He would face his death like a warrior, watching it as it approached him head on, just like his father and Vegeta before him. Piccolo must've had similar thoughts as he too watched the humans aiming their rifles.

What the two warriors didn't know was that the humans weren't aiming their rifles. Just as they had taken the upper hand in this battle, they had noticed several balls of light far behind their prey. Slowly they brought their weapons down just to stare at the unusual phenomenon. As they watched, the balls grew bigger, slowly but the difference was noticeable. Then they noticed that the balls were moving towards them, picking up speed. As they fully dropped their guard, the balls of light changed into beams of light, tearing through the front lines and obliterating all that stood behind.

As the beams flew overhead the fallen warriors, they immediately sensed the large group of power levels that had previously been hidden from them. It was an amazing sight to see the ki blasts come out of nowhere and slaughter everyone and everything in front of them. Turning their heads to look behind them, they were shocked to see a large cavalry of Saiyans racing towards them and blatantly passing them up to continue the slaughter. As they watched in awe, one Saiyan stopped his charge, turning his attention to the original attackers.

"Hey! You two okay!" the Saiyan shouted at them.

Quickly looking at him, Gohan called out "We'll survive!"

Nodding his head in confirmation, he turned to two Saiyans just as they were approaching. "You two stop!" he yelled stopping the two Saiyans.

Pointing to the fallen Gohan and Piccolo, he ordered "I want you to get them out of here. Meet up at the rendezvous point." The two Saiyans obviously didn't take the order too well, but complied nonetheless. One of the Saiyans hoisted Gohan over his shoulder while the other supported Piccolo's body by using his own body as a crutch. Swiftly, they flew off into the neighboring hills to await their comrades' return.

* * *

It was a few hours before the rest of Saiyans returned, their happy faces and blood-splattered armor dripping with the precious liquid. As Gohan watched the party arrive, he noticed immediately one of the Saiyans carrying the bodies of Trunks and Goten, neither of them moving. Gohan would've rushed over to them had Piccolo not laid his only good hand on his shoulder, keeping him down, shaking his head to tell him not to rush over. As far as the Namek was concerned, they were prisoners until told otherwise.

Just then, a Saiyan piped up. "Hey, where's Toma? Anyone seen him?" Taking a look around, Gohan searched for this Toma guy, but noticed the Saiyan that had stopped to help him and Piccolo out was missing.

Almost immediately, a few Saiyans' faces dropped. "He fell in battle," was all that needed to be said. Silently, they held a moment of silence for their fallen comrade before they started talking again. "So who are these guys?" one of the Saiyans asked, referring to the four mysterious warriors.

A large, bald headed Saiyan appeared in front of Gohan, his cold eyes boring into him. "My friend here has a point. Who are you people and what were you doing here?" he asked none too politely.

Gohan, deciding to be their spokesman, answered. "My name is Gohan. My green compatriot is Piccolo and the two you carry are Trunks and Goten. We came across some information telling us that something big was happening here and we came to disrupt it."

The bald Saiyan laughed out loud. "Let me guess. You're from the west and you thought you could take on some of the big guys. You lucked out that we were going to attack the base tonight or your buddies over there would be as good as dead." Turning to the rest of the party and ordered "We're going back to base. We'll see what Broly wants to do with these bakas."

Without another word mentioned, the group left the area, heading to the east, surprising Gohan. He hadn't heard of any Saiyans hiding out in the east. After the war, it had become an unofficial territory of the humans as they pressed westward, but Gohan didn't dwell on it too much. For the time being, he was solely focused on the limp bodies of Trunks and Goten, their faint energy signals giving him little comfort as they trudged through enemy territory. Seconds became minutes and minutes became hours until finally their journey ended. Standing baffled next to a large cliff, Gohan had no earthly clue as to why they were here. It wasn't until the bald Saiyan approached the cliff's face and did an intricate pattern of taps that anything happened. A couple of seconds after the taps, part of the face slide open, revealing a dark corridor with a set of stairs. Without pausing, the group plunged into the bowels of the cave. The feeling of descent never left Gohan as they continued to drop further and further underground. Finally, they began walking on a flat surface instead of steps. It didn't take long for them to start to see the glow of torches at the end of the tunnel.

As they entered a large cavern, Gohan gasped. Before him, a small village of Saiyans filled the room, the sounds of their daily life echoing throughout the place. Men, women, children hustled and bustled as if they were still above ground. The group worked their way through the masses, many civilians staring at the newest additions; then suddenly, a voice rang out.

"Nappa! What are you doing here early? You're not supposed to be here for another two hours! What went wrong? Where's Toma?" a Saiyan with long, shaggy hair demanded as he approached the bald-headed Saiyan.

Nappa grunted. "When we got to the base, we found it was already being attacked. The four you see right there," he said as he pointed at Gohan and co, "beat us to the base and were about to kick it when we stepped in. They'd destroyed a decent chuck of the defenses so it was easy pickings. Toma was killed though."

The long-haired Saiyan turned his attention to Gohan before gasping. "Gohan, is that you?" he demanded shocked.

Gohan looked at the Saiyan. He didn't really recognize the man, though he was ringing some bells. "Sorry, but I don't think we've met."

He chuckled. "I guess you wouldn't remember too well since the last time I saw you was when you were four. Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Raditz, your uncle," he said, giving the younger Saiyan a smile before turning his attention to Piccolo, replacing his smile with a look of suspicion. "And who is your green friend here? I've never seen him before."

"This is Piccolo. We met about two months ago and we've been helping each other out ever since,' Gohan answered. "Those two," he continued as he pointed to the still unconscious duo, "Are Goten, my brother, and Trunks."

Raditz nodded. "So where's Kakarot? I could've sworn he survived the invasion."

Gohan's mood dampened. "Dad was killed a few years ago along side Prince Vegeta."

Everyone in the vicinity quieted. Their prince had escaped the capital?

"You said they both died, right? How?" Raditz questioned.

Gohan scowled. "We were set up by that Saiyan traitor. You must've heard about that, haven't you?"

Raditz nodded grimly before looking at Goten. "I take it that's my other nephew, right?"

Gohan nodded. "And the one next to him is Trunks, Vegeta's kid."

It didn't take a second for Raditz to start harping on the other Saiyans. "What do you think you're doing treating royalty like a sack of beans?! Get him and my nephew taken care of now!" he roared, startling everyone.

With little hesitation, Trunks and Goten were taken away for medical treatment much to the relief of Gohan. Raditz turned to him again and said "I'll look after those two. Nappa should be taking you to see Broly. Tell him everything and he'll make sure everything will be fine." With that said, his uncle took his leave.

Gruffly, Nappa began to talk again, much to the dislike of Gohan and Piccolo. "Okay you two, let's get going. Broly wants to see you." He roughly pushed the two to the back of the cavern, towards a small, hastily made door. Nappa disappeared behind the door for a few moments before returning to lead the two inside.

Behind the door, a small room was revealed. A small group of Saiyans stood behind a desk where another Saiyan sat behind it, his bare chest showing with an odd golden necklace showing. His shaggy black hair, though not as shaggy as Raditz, came down past his shoulders. His cold eyes watched Gohan and Piccolo's every move as they entered the room, his hands entwined together as he rested his chin on them, giving him a look of being in complete control. "So you're the westerners I've heard about," he said, his voice deep and rough.

Gohan nodded. "Yeah that's us."

Broly continued to study them. Finally he spoke once more. "And you're also the last ones to be in the presence of the royal family. How was he killed?"

"You've heard of the Saiyan traitor. We were set up when we did a raid. My father was the first to fall, Vegeta the last as we were escaping."

Broly stared at him before turning his attention to Piccolo. "And you replaced your fallen comrades with a green bean. How touching."

Gohan and Piccolo turned to look at each other. With a slight nod of his head, Piccolo gave his permission to Gohan to talk back. Looking at Broly, Gohan retorted "Piccolo has more reason to kill humans then anyone else here. Before you stands the last Namekian in the universe."

Broly visible perked up at this while the others in the room looked flabbergasted. However, once his gaze fell on Piccolo's missing arm, he dropped his interest. "And a handicapped Namek at that," he responded.

Without a word, Piccolo's face became strained. Veins throbbed on his head and limbless stump. Quite unexpectedly, a new arm emerged from the stub, purple blood dripping from the restored appendage. "Not anymore," was all Piccolo said.

Staring in fascination, Broly responded "Regeneration. Very interesting." He paused in deep concentration. He then said "Maybe we could help each other out."

Gohan cocked an eyebrow. "Help each other out?"

Broly nodded. "Unfortunately, the Saiyan race doesn't have the ability to last long against the humans. The enemy's weapons get more sophisticated with every passing year. Just recently they created the blitz grenade, which I'm sure you got a good example of." Gohan and Piccolo smiled grimly. "If we're to stand a chance, we have to do something drastic."

Broly received questioning looks from his guests. "What do you mean?" was the only question Gohan could ask.

Lowering his hands to the desk as one hand balled into a fist and the other encompassed it, he replied a simply reply.

"We must attack Earth."


	10. Mudshovel

Silence filled the room. Was Broly being serious? Attack Earth? How?

When no one said anything, Broly continued. "I can imagine you're wondering how we're going to do this."

Many people nodded in answer. "We can steal a shuttle from the humans. They wouldn't think to attack their own ship once it arrived on Earth," Broly said before pausing.

"The only problem is we don't know where they keep their shuttles. We'd have to go get that information out of the 'Governor of Vegeta.'"

Almost immediately, someone protested. "We can't just ask them to give us that! We can't even sneak into one of their military bases without getting caught! What makes you think we can possible get close enough to this guy?"

"I know it doesn't seem possible, but do you think we can hold out against the humans for long? What better plan do you got?" Broly addressed his critic.

Before the critic could respond, Gohan interrupted. "I could get you that info."

Many Saiyans turned their attention to him, looking at the Saiyan skeptically. There was no way a Westside fighter could do what they could not.

Broly, however, got a twinkle in his eye. "And what proof do you have that you can accomplish this mission?"

Gohan smirked. "The reason why I even came out here was because of information I'd stolen from the humans. I've been infiltrating human bases since this invasion started. I can get into their bases and cities easily, but I have to do it my way and with my own men."

The other Saiyans were about to protest, but were cut off by Broly. "I'm glad someone here has the balls to get what needs to be done. The mission is yours. Take whoever you want, but get this done fast. I want our strike force to be in space in three months. That's all the time I have to spare."

Gohan nodded and turned to leave, Piccolo following him as they made their way to the medical center. They had to get some direction several times, but managed to get there without much problem. It was there they met Raditz.

Raditz smirked at his nephew as he approached. "I see you're still in one piece."

Gohan smirked back before asking "How are Trunks and Goten?"

"They'll be alright, but they'll be out for a couple of weeks."

Gohan scowled. "Not good. Broly gave me a mission and I need them for it."

Raditz gave a low whistle. "He must really like you to give you a mission, especially after just meeting you. What do you need to do?"

"I need to infiltrate the governor's place to get some info."

Raditz almost had a heart attack. "Why did you agree to a suicide mission? Do you want to get killed?"

The response was not what Raditz expected. His crazy nephew laughed at him. "That's what those other guys thought. And like I told them, I've been infiltrating human bases for a long time. I know what I'm doing."

Raditz scoffed. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Then how do you explain why I'm here?"

Raditz paused. "You're saying you snuck into a human compound and learned about their bases?"

All Gohan did was smile. Looking at the two downed Saiyans, he sighed before getting serious. "I need you to get half of the men who attack the base last night. I'll need you and them to come with me to New Central. I'll explain more when we get there."

Seeing the look in Gohan's eyes, Raditz nodded his confirmation. "Meet me at the entrance in six hours. That'll be plenty of time to round them up and have them somewhat rested."

Gohan smiled before leaving, Piccolo once again at his heels. "I hope you know what you're doing," he said gruffly.

Gohan grinned. "Just imagine the amount of humans you will be able to kill when we get to Earth."

Piccolo cocked an eyebrow. "You mean you want to go to Earth?"

"If we can bring the fight to Earth, maybe we can help all of the other races not affected by humans yet. We have to try and hurt them where it'll hurt most."

Piccolo gave a low chuckle. "You act as if I wasn't coming. Kid, you have no idea how much I'll enjoy this trip."

"You and me both Piccolo."

* * *

Videl had been keeping her eyes open for weeks now.

So far, the only clue she had to go on was the Cape Base attack; it was a base that was south of town. If all the reports were right, a large group of Saiyans had wiped out the base leaving nothing to come out alive. Of course, there were always those cowardly soldiers that hid when they got the chance. From their testimonies, Videl gathered that there had been a small group that attacked the base first before a much larger group swept in to finish the job. It was that smaller group that concerned her though. From the descriptions of the smaller group of four, one of them had Gohan's description. This finding alone sent her into a world of glee.

But there was one problem. The only place of importance closest to Cape Base was East Fort and Videl was certain that Gohan wouldn't come back here. So that still left her with nothing to go on...again.

Still, she had to figure out why Gohan had decided to come out here. After all the time since the humans had taken over, why did Gohan think now was the time to come east? It didn't make sense. However, when she found out about the importance of Cape Base, she didn't have to think hard as to why he went there.

Then something clicked. Videl's eyes widened. That was why Gohan came to East Fort! He wanted information on that base and what better way to get some than to go through some official's records to find out? So the Saiyans were changing their tactics a little. Usually they were unorganized and attacked at random, almost as if they were fighting alone. Still, she had to keep track of Gohan. She still owed him an ass whopping that she intended on delivering.

Then an idea hit her. Why didn't she use her dad's influence to get that information? Sure it'd be a bad use of man power, but what else did the military have to do, besides getting ambushed? Videl smirked. It was about time her father was useful for something.

* * *

It had been three days since they had left the Broly's sanctuary. Three long and tiring day's worth of travel. If it wasn't for the deadline that had to be met—plus the fact that if they flew, they were sitting ducks for attack—they would've taken it a lot easier then they had been. What was worse was all of the scout patrols they had run into the whole time. Sure they made sure that none escaped alive, but the whole tracking down part was killer. Fortunately, only a couple of the scouts had communication devices so their whereabouts was still relatively unknown.

Tonight, though, was a night for rest. You could only go so far for three days and nights without some kind of rest. Fortunately, their Saiyan bodies could take the strain of their lack of rest. They were still a week away from their destination, but for now they needed a respite.

For the night, they had found a place high on top of a bluff that they could use for a campsite, which was welcomed by the whole group. Sitting down at one of the campfires, Gohan began tearing chunks out of a slice of bread. Had it been his choice they would've ate as they regularly did, but with time being of the essence, they had to travel lightly. As he stared into the flames, Raditz approached him from behind.

"So what do you think of your first mission?" he asked, sitting across from Gohan.

Never leaving the sight of the flames, Gohan answered "I would rather we get this over with as soon as possible."

Raditz chuckled. "I know what you mean, but you can't help what you can't have."

It was Gohan's turn to chuckle before he put on a serious face. "Who were those guys back at the sanctuary? The ones hanging around Broly?"

Raditz sighed. "Politicians from the old days. Some managed to escape the carnage or were lucky enough to be away from the capital when it fell. Truthfully, if it wasn't for Broly, they would still be arguing about what they should do after the invasion."

A look of disgust appeared on Gohan's face. "You're saying those guys are still trying to retain some kind of power when it's obvious that they can't have any control? Why doesn't Broly use some of them in raids?"

Raditz smiled. "He already has. Why else do you think they didn't protest too much about you heading this mission? Broly would've sent them with you if they caused too much trouble."

Gohan didn't reply for some time before saying "So that's all they did before the humans came? They must be some kind of rejects to try and squabble the way they do. I'm surprise our old government managed to do anything at all."

"That's because King Vegeta let them talk and argue; and while they did that, he'd do what ever it was that pleased him. If something was successful, the old timers would take credit for it and if it failed, they'd blame the king. It worked and that was all that anyone cared about," Raditz explained.

"Still, the humans could've done us a favor and gotten rid of them."

"Since when did a human do something beneficial?"

Gohan let out a laugh. "True, true," he said before staring back into the fire. Both Saiyans watched the flames dance for a while before Raditz spoke again. "So tell me, how were you able to sneak into human bases and manage to not get caught?"

Gohan smirked before looking at his uncle. "Back at the start of the occupation, it was only me, Goten, and Dad. We had barely escaped a platoon of soldiers, losing my mother in the process." Gohan paused here as he stared out into the night, a small frown on his face.

Raditz bowed his head slightly and then replied, "I'm sorry to hear that. Your mother was a great woman."

"That wasn't what you said the last time you visited," Gohan chuckled. "Though it's a little fuzzy, I do remember you saying something about how crazy she was, especially with that frying pan."

Raditz glared before joining in with a chuckle of his own. "Yeah, those were the days. So what happened next?"

Continuing, Gohan said, "We had spent the rest of the year trying to survive, dodging patrols and such. It was only luck that we stumbled upon Vegeta and Trunks. If our situations had been any different, Vegeta would've spat at us and tell us to take our dirty, third class asses away from his sight; but since we all were pretty desperate, we joined forces. It was then that we started attacking human forts."

"And then what?" asked Raditz, engrossed by the story.

"Dad and Vegeta would go off and destroy the bases while I watched Goten and Trunks, only joining with the older guys when it became tougher to simple rush in and blow everything up. Even between the three of us, it was tough fighting back against the blitz rifles. It was then that Vegeta came up with the idea of infiltrating the bases and since I was the only one that could pass off as a competent human, I was chosen to do the spying."

"Why not Kakarot or Vegeta?" Raditz interrupted. It seemed odd that the prince would allow a boy to do a man's job.

"The humans would've recognized Vegeta right off the bat and Dad, well, you know he wasn't that bright of a man to handle that kind of responsibility."

Raditz chuckled. "I have to agree there. So what next?"

"I watched our next target for a couple days, just waiting for a chance to sneak in. It was on that second day of observation that I saw a mail delivery occur, one of the delivery men being quite young—young enough for me to pass myself off as one. So after the delivery crew left, I ambushed them, killed everyone, and took one of their uniforms. The next day I faked a mail delivery and they let me in. I was able to roam the whole base without being suspected, just as long as I acted lost and asked for directions to find a few different people. I did this at a few different bases before discovering that all the military instillations were exactly the same, so I stopped checking them out. Kinda wished I did investigate when Dad and Vegeta were killed though."

Raditz nodded. "Very interesting. We could've used that knowledge a long time ago."

Gohan didn't reply. He just stared straight ahead, off in his own world until he yawned.

"I think I'll turn in. See you bright and early." With that said, Gohan left the fire to lay down further away from the cliff's edge. Raditz watched as his nephew disappeared in the darkness. It had been awhile since he had seen the boy last, but with the way the world was, he couldn't say he was too pleased with him. If it wasn't for those blasted humans, the boy would've never sounded like a thirty year old man, the man he just had a conversation with. Even as Saiyans, he was too young to have his hands stained with the blood of others. Raditz would be thankful if Gohan managed to get through this whole experience in one piece rather than as a broken soldier, one that knew nothing but war.

That was another reason to hate the humans in his book.


	11. Paper Jesus

And as I've promised some of you, here is my longest chapter ever. Damn this took awhile to write. I got a whole new respect for all those people who can constantly write long ass chapters. How they do it on a constant basis is beyond me.

And before I forget, Happy Thanksgiving everyone. And now I feel better about myself.

* * *

You'd think that with the way humans altered their environment, they would've cleared out a lot of the underbrush surrounding their settlements. At least, that's what Gohan thought as he crawled on his stomach, moving through bushes and the like just to get a visual of his target: New Central.

Before the young saiyan, a large settlement created by the humans was laid out. It was like any other settlement due to the "creativity" of human ingenuity. Houses and other buildings sat in neat, single filed rows along streets that criss-crossed across the whole place. However, there was one big difference between all of the other villages and this one. In the center of the city, a very large, very tall temple-like structure sat in all of its glory. Columns of marble held up each floor as the temple stood above all other structures; its red painted walls with a green and gold strips running along the edge of the building. A case of stairs led all the way up to the top of the temple where a small outhouse like structure sat, a door blocking all who wished to enter. It didn't' take a genius to figure out where the governor was or how to get to him. And these humans thought they were impenetrable to infiltration.

The sound of two bodies crawling towards Gohan from behind alerted the saiyan to their presence. Without flinching, Raditz and Piccolo slide up beside Gohan, one on either side of him, both looking out into the city.

"So what's the plan nephew?" Raditz asked.

"Simple. The three of us are going to get inside that temple and get what we came for," Gohan responded.

Raditz gave him a quizzical look. "If it's just the three of us going, then why did we bring the others?"

"They're our escape plan. Once we get the prize, we send out a signal. When they see the signal, the others start attacking the city as we make our escape. The sudden attack will throw the humans into chaos, so the soldiers won't be able to react without the civilians running into them, just to get away."

"Okay then, what's the signal?"

"A very simple one. We'll just blow a hole in one of the outer walls of the temple and use that to get out of the building. Since the temple is the tallest building here, the rest of our group will be able to see it and start the assault."

Raditz just stared at him. "You've really put some thought into this."

Gohan smirked. "The one thing you guys haven't learned is that humans are predictable. They always react the same way every time."

Interrupting the conversation, Piccolo put in his two cents. "So how are we going to get in that temple?"

Gohan continued to smirk. "Got that covered. I still have those human clothes Goten stole. You and I are going to get dressed in them, though we're gonna have to make you a little less green. We'll act as if we've just caught Raditz and we're gonna take him to the 'Governor' to see what we should do with him."

Piccolo scowled. "There is no way I'm wearing anything that those Earthlings made," he retorted.

Gohan shook his head. "All we're putting on you is a cloak with a hood to cover your head. Your gi pants and shirt that happen to appear will do just fine. Just make sure the rest of you don't show. We could bandage you up and say you were burned badly. That okay?"

Although not pleased, Piccolo remained silent. That was all Gohan needed to know that he would do it. Raditz on the other hand, was a little wary of being 'arrested.'

"Are you sure that tying me up would be okay? What if you need me to help you guys fight off the humans?" he asked, hoping he had a point.

Gohan chuckled. "You should be able to break the ropes easy enough. If it makes you feel better, we won't tie you up so tight. But we are gonna have to beat you up a little. Just so you fit into character."

Raditz gulped. For some reason, he had a bad feeling about this.

* * *

Raditz was stumbling behind Gohan and Piccolo; the bonds securing his hands together were attached to the end of a rope with Gohan pulling it. In order to "get into character," Gohan, Piccolo, and the rest of the saiyans had beaten the living hell out of him. As of now, he had a few broken ribs, a black eye, the left side of his face bleeding with the eye swollen shut, bruises and cuts covered any and all exposed flesh. If it wasn't for the reassurance of some miracle cure of Gohan's, he would've never agreed to this. 'This had better be worth it,' he though as Gohan gave a tug on the rope, causing Raditz to stumble some more.

They were a quarter of the way into the city, the humans stopping what ever activity they had been doing just to see the spectacle of a couple of "humans" dragging a wounded saiyan down the street. Perhaps Gohan was right, maybe these humans were predictable after all.

As they passed a couple of soldiers, Raditz saw them give Gohan a thumbs up. Apparently, anyone who caught a saiyan was supposed to delivery it themselves. Either the soldiers were lazy or it was a sign that it would be easier to just kill the saiyan on the spot. If only they had known about this policy, Broly and the others could've exploited this a long time ago.

After passing multitudes of gawking humans and congratulating soldiers, the trio found themselves at the bottom steps of the overly humongous temple. Looking up at the monstrosity, Gohan finally said "We're almost there."

Raditz coughed up some blood. "If you don't mind, I'd like that cure of yours right now before I die of this beating," he said spitefully.

Gohan shook his head. "Not until we reach the top. We'll heal you there and then began the infiltration." Without another word, Gohan and Piccolo preceded up the stairs, dragging a very unhappy Raditz behind them.

After what seemed like an eternity of climbing those steps, they finally reached the top of the Kami forsaken building. Why the humans had this urge to build everything as tall as they could was a mystery to the three.

After entering the temple, Gohan stopped the group and began taking off his disguise, Piccolo following his example happily. If he had to wear that garment for a minute longer, he would've blown up half the city to get it off. Turning to Raditz, Gohan flicked to him a small bean which Raditz caught and looked at it dubiously. "Your miracle cure is a bean?" the saiyan asked incredulously.

Gohan grinned. "That's a senzu bean you got there. Now hurry up and take it. We've got some planning to do."

After much consideration, Raditz finally took the bean. Almost immediately, he felt his whole body almost burst. His ribs had healed themselves, all of his cuts and bruises disappeared, every single injury he had previously vanished without a trace. Then the rush of power filled Raditz to the brim. Thank Kami for those saiyan genes of his.

"Glad you decided to join the fight uncle," Gohan said mockingly. In return he got a dirty look. Shaking his amusement away, he then held out his hand, revealing two more of the magic beans. "We'll each carry one senzu. If you find yourself in a bit of trouble, use it. But remember, these are the only ones you get. Use them responsibly."

As Raditz and Piccolo took their bean, Gohan continued. "Here's the plan, I want Piccolo to search the floor below us while Raditz and I will get the one below it. When you're done with your floor Piccolo, search the one we were on to make sure we don't miss anything. Understand?"

Piccolo gave a slight grin, nodded, and disappeared down a set of stairs, leaving Raditz and Gohan to take another staircase to go to the floor below the one Piccolo would be searching.

For what seemed like hours, they searched their floor, always noticing the lavish setting that the temple bestowed. The brightly decorated rugs and tapestries spoke volumes about the wealth accumulated for this monstrosity of a building. The only place that held such richly decorated rooms perviously to the invasion was the imperial palace at the capital. There was no doubt in Gohan's mind that some of the saiyan patterns of some of the décor here was in fact from the palace.

As the two saiyans entered a room of marble with marble columns holding the roof in place, they heard the murmurings of a conversation coming their way. Quickly hiding behind separate columns, they soon saw the people they had been looking for.

At the front of the group, an old man with sunglasses and an odd looking mustache dressed in lavish robes of silk talked very loudly. He was saying something about the crop yields for the year, so it wasn't too important to listen to. After watching the old man talk for a little while, Gohan turned his attention to what appeared to be his body guards.

Of the three he could see, one of them was a tall man, bald and with a strange eye in the middle of his forehead. His muscular build was dressed in a simple white muscle shirt with green gi pants, wristbands, and yellow boots. The man next to the tri eyed man was a man with long shaggy hair, a scar running down his right eye and a cross shaped scar on his left cheek. Although not as big as three eyes, he too wore a white muscle shirt with orange gi pants and blue moccasins along with blue wristbands. On the other side of three eyes was a small mime like boy, dressed similarly to three eyes, a black cap on his head completing the picture.

Suddenly, the old man stopped his ramblings and started talking about more serious issues; one in which dealt with the saiyans. Both saiyans focused all of their attention on this bit.

"Tien, have you seen the latest reports of saiyan activity lately?" the old man asked, his strained voice echoing throughout the room.

Three eyes answered. "Yes Governor. They say there's a small band of saiyans heading this way."

Raditz clenched his teeth. So the humans were getting info on their activities. This wasn't good at all.

The governor nodded his head before turning his attention to the mime. "Chiaotzu, I need you to go retrieve out 'guest.' We mustn't keep him waiting."

Chiaotzu bowed before the governor before leaving the room via hovering. Meanwhile, the remaining three stopped their walking underneath a balcony like platform. It was then that Tien spoke once more. "I don't understand why you have such scum at your disposal. Why don't you kill him off already?"

The governor shook his head. "Because how are we supposed to kill any saiyans when we don't know where to find them? Out of everyone we've used, he's given us the location of several bands of saiyans we would've never found had he not turn them in. That's why."

Tien continued his protest. "But Crane, if he's a traitor to them, he could betray us too."

Governor Crane just smirked. "I wouldn't worry about that. Once he's outlived his usefulness, we'll execute him. Does that solve your problem?"

Tien was about to continue when he heard the soft sound of a sheet shifting. Moving his third eye around, he noticed a dark silhouette in the darkness of the room behind the balcony. Apparently, his scarred friend heard it too as he turned his head to look at Tien. With a quick shift of his eyes to indicate that he go check it out, the scarred man nodded lightly before excusing himself and leaving the room.

Upon seeing the scarred man leaving, Gohan began to wonder if the humans knew they were there when the mime returned with the 'guest.' After taking one look at the guest, Gohan nearly bit his tongue off in order to remain quiet. Raditz seemed to be having the same problem as anger built up within him.

Before the two saiyans stood Turles, his battle armor in relatively good condition and a smug expression on his face. The saiyan smirked as he drew near Crane and Tien. "I hope you have my payment for the last six months. I've been pretty busy rounding up those saiyans you so desperately want to find."

Crane nodded. "If you follow me, we'll see to it that you get your prize." Turning away, he led Turles and his two body guards into a hallway, disappearing into its depths.

Once they left, Raditz quiet unclenched his hand, blood dripping from the gashes his fingernails left. So that was the man responsible for the death of his brother. The death of the Prince. Anger once again coursed through his body. Well, if Raditz had it his way, he was going to put an end to that. Turning his gaze from the hallway the group left in, he saw Gohan sitting on the ground, still looking in that direction, a mixture of betrayal, anger, and contempt written on his face. Slowly, he began to speak. "I can't believe I didn't see it earlier. All of the signs were there and I didn't try to make the connection."

"No one did," Raditz said. "But that shouldn't concern you. You need to get what we came for. I'll deal with that traitor myself."

Gohan looked at him confused. Raditz growled. "Well what are you waiting for? Get moving before the humans realize we're here!"

Snapping out of his stupor, Gohan quickly got up and left the room, following the path of the scarred man. Raditz turned his attention back to where he saw Turles go. It was time for some payback.

* * *

Once the small audience left the room, Piccolo turned to leave from his hiding spot on top of the balcony. He was going to have some fun with those humans once he found them. 

Going into the room he had used to get to the balcony, he noticed something different. Standing in the middle of the room was a man with scars covering his face, an arrogant smirk residing where his mouth was. "So you're our little spy. Not so sneaky are we?"

Piccolo didn't reply as he stared at the man, that arrogant smirk never leaving his face. It looked like Piccolo was going to have to fix that.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am of the elite body guard unit of the Crane Hermit. I go by the name Yamcha...and I will be the last person you will ever see."

Suddenly, Yamcha charged the Namekian, his fists raised as he flew through the air, a war cry coming from his mouth. As he threw a right jab, Piccolo simply blocked it, grabbing the human by the shirt. Twisting his body to a side, the Namek threw his opponent into the air. While he flew, Yamcha corrected himself, flipping midair and landing on his feet facing Piccolo and crouching low. "It looks like I have to take you seriously," he stated. Spreading his hands out before him and stiffening them into talons, Yamcha once again charge, shouting out his signature move.

"Wolf Fang Fist!" he cried out.

As he rushed at his green opponent, the last thing he expected to happen happened. The green man before him stretched his arm out, his hand grabbing onto Yamcha's face, stopping him in his tracks. Before he could react, Piccolo swung the pitiful Earthling into a wall, breaking it, and retracting his arm. After a few moments, Yamcha stumble away from the wall, shaken. Shrugging off that last attack, he crouched low, his legs spread out and his hands cupped to his right. Yamcha then yelled out "Try and counter this!"

Slowly he chanted the words to his attack. "Kaa…Mee…Haa…Mee…"

As Piccolo watched, he felt the Earthling gathering energy. To prove his point further, a blue ball of energy appeared in his cupped hands the further he chanted.

Suddenly, Yamcha shouted the last of the chant, thrusting his hands towards Piccolo and unleashing a large blue blast. "Haaaaaaaa!"

Without much effort, Piccolo leapt above the blast, the destructive force passing underneath him. The Namek balled his fist, gathering energy. Once he was done, he thrust his arm in front of him, his fist opening wide as he unleashed his own attack. "Destructive Wave!"

The large yellow blast approached Yamcha with amazing speed. Fortunately for him, Yamcha had just ended his Kamehameha wave and managed to dodge the blast as it vaporized the surrounding area. Examining the destruction from his new location, Yamcha laughed. "Missed me!"

Piccolo slowly landed on the ground, impassive as ever. "That's nothing to gloat about. Even a novice could've dodged that."

Anger welled up in Yamcha, causing him to lunge at the green man.

Almost immediately, Piccolo straightened his hand, his fingers straighter than a dagger, his thumb curled into his palm. Quickly, he jabbed his hand out, puncturing the Earthling's stomach. Gripping onto Piccolo's arm, Yamcha managed to look into his adversary's face. The last thing he saw was the green man's eyes glowing and two small beams shooting out of them, boring holes right above his eyebrows.

Piccolo dropped the limp body, a look of disgust gracing his face. Such pitiful fighting skills. He wasn't even worth the time to spit on. Without a second thought, Piccolo left the fallen body guard's body to rot. Maybe he would find a better challenge elsewhere.

* * *

It didn't take long for Gohan to find the information that he sought. Once again relying on human predictability, he found the room with every single shred of news, projections, and current affairs happening on Vegeta. Skimming through all kinds of different files, he finally found a listing of different launch sites all across the planet. He got what he came for. All he had to do was get it to Broly and he would take it from there.

Leaving the room, Gohan felt the building shake. His eyes widen. It was way too soon for the signal to go off. He had to find Piccolo and Raditz fast before they got out. Everything could still go wrong if he didn't.

He took off down the hall, heading towards the nearest power level. He wasn't sure if that was the right way or not but all he knew was that one of the others were still fighting, and the best place to find one of them was to head to a group.

Hopefully he would make it in time to help.

* * *

Turles was walking through the halls of the governor's house, his payment in his hand and a big smile on his face. Ever since they had made that deal to turn over his fellow comrades for a price, he had been living very well. If he had it his way, he wouldn't stop this scheme and would never have to. True, once all the other saiyans were exterminated, he's usefulness would be over, but he could think of one or two things he could do to continue being useful.

As he turned a corner, a vicious left hook nailed him right in the face, sending him flying into a wall, creating a nice sized crack in it. Quickly getting back to his feet, he saw a saiyan with very long hair and a murderous look in his eyes, his breath coming out raggedly due to his anger, standing in front of him. Now how had a saiyan gotten in here?

"Turles, you son of a bitch, I'm gonna rip your head off!" the enrage saiyan screamed, launching himself at the stunned saiyan. Reacting quickly, Turles dodged the first punch, returning one of his own straight at his attacker's face, only to have it parried and a flurry of punches coming at him.

Turles tried to dodge or block all of them, but inevitably one got past his defenses, a second one not to long after that, and eventually several found their way into his body and face. Staggering away from the onslaught, Turles fired a ki blast at his attacker, only to have it knocked away. Spitting blood, Turles finally got the balls to ask "Who the hell are you?"

The response he got was not what he expected. "You piece of shit. You killed my brother. The one you resemble so much." Turles' eyes widen. He had heard Kakarot had a brother but never had he thought he survived the invasion. He'd have to be careful now. One wrong move and it would be over and Turles would be damned if he was going to die today.

"Is that all? Well let me arrange a meeting between the two of you. Say in the afterlife?" Turles said, his voice becoming a yell towards the end. Immediately, he began firing several ki blasts at the newly identified Raditz. Crossing his arms in front of him, Raditz absorbed the brunt of the attack before retaliating with one of his own ki blasts.

Dodging the initial attack, Turles never saw Raditz move until he felt his knee imbedding itself in his stomach. Bending over Raditz's leg, Turles let out a gasp of air just before Raditz jackhammered him in the back of his neck. Dropping to the ground, pain spreading all across his body, a swift kick sent him flying down the corridor, skidding on the stone flooring. Turning his bruised body onto its side, Turles looked at Raditz, showing him his scorn. Raditz only smirked. "I'd thought you'd be tougher than this Turles."

Spiting out the blood that had accumulated in his mouth, Turles replied. "Go to hell." That remark only made Raditz's smirk to grow more evil. Raising his left arm up into the air and to his side, palm facing his fallen adversary, Raditz said "Now remember little man, keep your eye on the birdie."

A look of hate crossed Turles' face as he shouted "Bastard!"

Without anymore hesitation, a ball of ki appeared in Raditz's hand in which Raditz threw with precision. The attack engulfed Turles as he screamed in pain, destroying the neighboring walls and floor, shaking the building convulsively. When the shaking stopped and the dust cleared, Raditz could see the city through the large hole he created.

"Whoops. Didn't mean to do that. Must've gotten a little carried away," Raditz said with a grin. Slowly, the grin disappeared, a look of seriousness replacing it. He didn't have much time until the soldiers came to investigate, not to mention the other saiyans waiting for that hole to appear. He'd have to go find the governor fast in order to complete the mission. Turning around, Raditz ran down the remains of the hallway, heading towards the last location he knew Crane was at last.

Sighing as he ran, he knew Gohan was going to kill him when he found out about this.

* * *

'Almost there,' was Gohan's thought as he barreled down the hallway. At the moment, he was nearing the closest group of power levels, sure that he was going to run into his comrades. He had barely taken notice of one power level disappearing soon after he felt the tremor. Spying a door at the end of the hallway, Gohan ran full speed at it, bursting right through it into the room.

Before him stood the last people he thought he would run into. There in the middle of the room stood Governor Crane and the two body guards Tien and Chiaotzu, all three of them staring at him. Gohan would've berated himself for not recognizing the kis he was running towards. In his rush, it never crossed his mind he'd run into the enemy. A mistake only an amateur would make and a costly one at that. But then again, he had wanted to have a run in with the governor and now was his chance.

"I've been looking for guys. Glad you decided to stick around," Gohan said, his voice full of confidence.

Taking one look at the intruder, Crane didn't even flinch. True he had a saiyan standing before him but he had two of his best students protecting him. What did he have to lose? And even if they failed, as long as he could escape, his ties to the Earth's government would send him new ones. Why else would they put someone like him in a position of power if they didn't favor him in some kind of way?

"Tien, Chiaotzu, I'll leave this to you," Crane said as calmly as possible before heading for the nearest exit. The two Crane students continued staring at the saiyan before crouching into a bizarre fighting stance Gohan had never seen before. It didn't matter. He would dispatch these lowly body guards and take care of Crane in time. Crouching into a defensive stance, Gohan waited for the attack.

With a loud cry, Tien launched himself at Gohan, a flurry of punches flying at his opponent. Gohan was surprised by the style of attack his opponent was using against him. Usually, a human would fight to hurt, not to kill, but this Tien fellow was throwing every punch, every strike at his vitals and pressure points. This three eyed guy meant business.

As Tien attacked the saiyan, Chiaotzu began working on his own attack. Slowly, he lifted some rubble, which had fallen during the tremor, using his telekinetic powers and launched it at the intruder when the two fighters broke apart. Catching the surprise attack last second, Gohan managed to dodge it but didn't dodge the roundhouse kick thrown at him by Tien.

Recovering, Gohan went on the attack, throwing everything he had at Tien. Instead of just blocking that attack, Tien began parrying the punches and counterattacking with his own, each fighter landing earth shattering blows on one another but ignoring the pain so they could inflict the same damage, if not more, on the other. This continued for some time before Tien broke off, Chiaotzu replacing him in the fight. Although not as skilled at Tien, Chiaotzu held his own due to Gohan's early bout with Tien. The mime managed to gain the upper hand in the fight, though, when he began firing ki blasts at the saiyan. Diving out of the way, Gohan began running along side the wall, ki blasts exploding behind him until he reached the corner of the room.

As Gohan was running, Tien lifted his arm in front of him, his index finger pointing straight out, following the saiyan. Slowly gathering energy, he continued following Gohan with his finger until he reached the corner.

"Dodon Ray!" Tien shouted as a thin ki blast fired from his finger, racing towards the saiyan. Seeing the attack, Gohan ducked it, the beam going over his head. The resulting explosion from the beam hitting the wall caught him off guard, flinging Gohan across the room and slamming him into the wall on the opposite side of the room. Gohan landed on the floor, a grunt of pain escaping his lips, blood running down the side of his face. Slowly, he lifted his body and faced his opponents, ready for round two.

Meanwhile, an unnoticed figure had been watching the whole fight. Standing in the darkness of the next room, Piccolo watched as Gohan fought and was thrown across the room. It seemed that the kid would need some help after all. But he wouldn't reveal himself just yet. If he was going to "save the day," he would be taking one of the earthlings down first. Raising his arm up, his index and middle fingers sticking straight up, hovering a couple of inches from his face; Piccolo focused his ki, chanting out "Special…Beam…Cannon." It would take a couple of minutes but the result would be well worth it.

Tien began the attack again, giving out his war cry as he charged. This time, Gohan didn't give Tien the chance to set up his attack, firing ki blasts at the charging human, forcing him to dodge. Pointing his other arm at Chiaotzu, he began firing at the mime to keep him on his toes. As the two humans dodged the attacks; Gohan rushed at Tien, landing a solid punch to his jaw and sending him flying across the room. Without hesitating, Gohan picked up a fallen piece of rubble from the earlier Dodon Ray attack and threw it at Chiaotzu, once again keeping the mime on his toes.

Recovering from the punch, Tien leapt back into attack, aiming a high kick at Gohan's head, which the saiyan block, grabbed and swung the body guard around in a circle before letting him go to fly through the air. Recovering in midair, Tien landed on his feet, bending down till his hands met the floor, his knees buckled out. Chiaotzu suddenly appeared to his right breathing heavily. It seemed the saiyan wouldn't allow them to use the same tactic twice.

Suddenly a loud, gruff voice shouted "Special Beam Fire!"

Turning his attention to his left, Tien saw a bright yellow beam with a purple one swirling around it flying towards him. Reacting quickly, Tien pushed off the ground, jumping backwards to avoid the attack. Chiaotzu wasn't as lucky.

The beam blindsided the mime, piercing the top left portion of his chest and exiting out the right side of his back. Chiaotzu's eyes widen as the sudden pain ripped through his body, falling limp as he died.

"Chiaotzu!" Tien cried out as his friend fell before his eyes. As sorrow and anguish filled his body, angry slowly worked itself into the mix. Turning his attention to the recently revealed green man, Tien formed a triangle with his hands, his thumbs and fingers touching, and gathered his ki. Without out holding anything back, Tien fired.

"Tribeam Cannon!"

It was almost faster then either Gohan or Piccolo could see. They could barely pick out where the attack was until it slammed right into Piccolo's chest, throwing him back into the room he just exited. Anger and sorrow still evident on his face, Tien readied another Tribeam but was stopped short. Attacking from behind, Gohan jackhammered Tien in the back of his neck, causing the bald man to fall to the floor.

As Tien began to pick himself up, Gohan stomped his foot into the back of his head, Tien's face slamming into the floor, knocking him out.

Breathing heavily, Gohan turned to look in Piccolo direction, the Namek gripping onto his chest with his hands. "You okay Piccolo?"

The Namekian grunted. "I've had better days. At least this one actually hit me."

Gohan grinned. "I take it you took care of that scarred guy."

A simple nod was all he received. Suddenly, Raditz burst into the room, ready for combat. Crouching low into a defensive stance, Raditz prepared for a fight that would never come. He had felt the intense fight occurring and rushed as fast as he could to lend his help. Upon seeing Gohan and Piccolo, both of them starring at him, he dropped his stance and looked around confused. The scars of battle were scattered around the room, the bodies of two humans lying on the ground. Overcoming his confusion, Raditz managed to say "Is the fighting over?"

Gohan and Piccolo couldn't help but form sweatdrops on that one. Shaking away his astonishment at his uncle's eerily familiar display of obliviousness, Gohan replied "Uh, yeah. You just missed it. But we can't worry about that, we have to get out of here. The squad should be attacking any moment now."

Without looking for confirmation, Gohan took off down a hallway followed by Piccolo and Raditz. With their mission complete, all they had to do was make it in one piece back to Broly's sanctuary.

Or die trying.


	12. Reality

If any of you have read my first fic, Survival of the Lamest, then you know that I had a question relating to girls and marker boards. Just recently, I have found another question to ask all of you ladies and I would appreciate if you would help me out. What is with the obsession you girls have for the movie Dirty Dancing? Practically every girl that that I know and has ever heard a rumor of the movie is all head over heels for it. So, please, tell me, what is the deal with that?

* * *

It was utter chaos in the streets of New Central. Civilians were running around like chickens with their heads cut off, trying to escape the same kind of horror as the person next to them. What that was, Crane didn't know. After he had left his body guards to deal with the saiyan intruder, he fled from the temple with tremors occurring every so often. However, those tremors were not enough to cause a riot in the streets. Something else was going on.

As Crane followed the flow of panicked humans, he noticed soldiers running in the opposite direction, fighting the crowd in vain. What ever that something was, it had to be serious. The soldiers of this city rarely put their noses into any kind of mishap, small or large.

Suddenly, an explosion rocked the city; the bodies of the soldiers vaporized along with any unfortunate civilian who just happen to be nearby. Crane had been fortunate enough to be out of reach of the blast but was thrown through the air like a rag doll, landing on top of other people who had landed before him. As he got up and began to start running, Crane had a bad feeling that he knew what was going on. If that explosion was caused by a ki blast, then that meant that the saiyans were done with their code of honor. Long ago, it was determined that the saiyans wouldn't kill a noncombatant because of their honor code, even as the humans continued to slaughtering the saiyan civilians. This was bad. There was no way that human settlements could be placed on Vegeta without an armed guard and at the moment, that guard would be a long time coming.

Had Crane actually been paying attention, he would've noticed that the ki blast only landed near armed units of men. Any civilian that just happened to be nearby were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. As Crane ran, he never saw the ki blast that was heading his way, aimed at the soldiers currently in front of him. He was just as surprised as the other civilians that the deadly orb of light just appeared out of nowhere and land directly in front of them, exploding on contact. The blast did its job of a quick death for all in the vicinity, though it was painful nonetheless.

Throughout the city, the human civilians wreaked havoc as they tried to escape the onslaught of ki blasts, disrupting the reaction time of any armed units. It was because of that panicked state of mind that no one noticed three figures leaping from roof top to roof top above their heads. After wondering lost inside the governor's temple, Piccolo had gotten tired of the mindless twist and turns and blasted the group's way out. As they neared the outskirts of the city, Raditz took one look at all of the lost sheep below him as they trampled each other, seeking safety. Although he wasn't pleased that civilians were being killed, it was their own fault that they were killed. A look of disgust crossed his face. "You really do know how to predict these sorry excuses for people."

Gohan took a quick glance of his uncle before answering. "Like I said, humans are way too predictable. If you can figure out their mannerisms, then you could get away with murder with these people."

"Well, I hope you don't mind if I say that I'd rather not know how these weaklings actually thought," Raditz replied.

"I wouldn't blame you. As soon as their menace is gone, I'm going to enjoy losing every single bit of knowledge I have on them as I grow older. Becoming senile doesn't look so bad right now."

Both Piccolo and Raditz laughed their heads off. The way the youth thought these days. You never knew what would come out of their mouths.

Shortly after leaving the city and reuniting with their comrades, they left the New Central amongst the chaos and carnage that erected itself. With their mission complete, the documents secure, the band of saiyans headed towards the sanctuary, a new ray of hope shining itself on them. If everything went right, they could be on the road to freedom and peace. And they would fight with everything they had to ensure it.

* * *

Videl was in shock. Before her stood the remains of New Central a week after a surprise attack by a band of saiyans. Ruined buildings loomed over the destroyed pavement of the streets beneath them. Bodies were still being removed from the gutters that they rested in, a majority of them being soldiers. Looking from the recovering streets, the desecration of the governor's mansion looked worse then the rest of the city. Scorch marks and large holes littered the building; its once proud display of power shattered as its structure crumbled. Out of the whole city, that was the most heavily damaged real estate in the whole city.

Videl began walking through the streets, staring at the destruction that the saiyans had unleashed. If a small band of those fearsome warriors caused this much damage then Videl had to shudder at the though of what a good sized army could do. How her father managed to defeat such people was a miracle in itself.

Looking at the damage report she had managed to persuade from an officer upon arrival, she took note of what happen that fateful night. A loud explosion from the mansion, which was eclipsed by the hailing of energy balls, caused a riot amongst the people. Because of the panicked civilians, the soldiers couldn't react as well as they had been trained to do and were easy pickings for the artillery the saiyans launched at them. As Videl continued reading the report, a question formed in her inquisitive mind. Why would a sudden attack on the city start from within it? It was almost as if the whole thing was planned based on the reaction from the denizens of New Central. But saiyans weren't known to be that thorough in their attacks. They would have to predict every single move that the people would make and Videl only knew of one saiyan that could've predicted that.

Videl eyes widen. It was the only logical explanation she could think of. Gohan had to be behind the whole thing. Videl would've jumped for joy if it would've been appropriate. She had been receiving reports from scouts that the young saiyan was heading this way and the design of the attack proved it. Of course, Gohan wouldn't have just attacked a whole city without a good reason. He must've been after something, but what?

Looking at the damage report for the governor's mansion, she found out that two of the governor's body guards had been killed, another one being held in custody and the whereabouts of the governor being unknown were very reminiscent of East Fort. It fact, the pattern was way too similar to just be coincidental.

Now what? She had been able to track the saiyan down but was too late to actually run into him. Frustration began to build up. She couldn't just sit on her ass and wait for Gohan's next move; it would be the same scenario all over again. But she couldn't just throw a dart at some random city and expect him to be there either. Who knew how long it would take to find him like that. Great, now she was back at square one.

"This is just horrible," a shaken voice said from behind her. Turning around, Videl saw Erasa, completely overwhelmed by the destruction.

The blond girl had practically blackmailed Videl so she could tag along on her trip. After Videl had stormed away from her friends the morning after Gohan jilted her, Erasa grilled Sharpner about this mystery man of hers. Apparently, Erasa got the idea that there was some kind of romance behind everything and wanted to see the whole thing played out. She practically forced herself onto the trip, using memories of certain embarrassing moments that Videl didn't want anyone to know about.

Once Erasa had gotten on board, she once again used her threat of embarrassment to get the whole back story to this romantic ideal of hers. In the end, Videl had to tell the blond everything from their chance meeting, the interrogation, the mayor's house, Gohan's lineage, and his sudden departure. Even the fact that Gohan was a saiyan hadn't deterred the girl from coming. Fortunately, Erasa had been instrumental in preventing Sharpner from joining them. It had been her idea that the blond boy's injuries wouldn't allow him to travel at the rate the girls wanted, shutting him out completely. They left East Fort quickly after that to ensure that Sharpner wouldn't be able to follow them. The whole time, Erasa had dreamt about how wonderful the reunion would be, the excitement of seeing reunited lovers being too much for her. However, their first stop was not what the poor girl expected.

Because of the sheltered lifestyle she had lived in for so long, Erasa was ill prepared for the carnage they found. Videl pitied her. But now wasn't the best time to comfort the poor girl. She needed to figure out her next course of action and for the time being, they would have to stay in New Central.

At least until they could predict Gohan's movements.

* * *

There it was; the cliff that hid a village of saiyans. The last time Gohan had seen it was when he was first brought here. It hadn't been on the best of terms but at least this time he was bearing a much welcomed gift.

Gohan had hit the jackpot with the information he stole. Looking through it on the way back, he saw the listings of launch sites, their defenses, number of shuttles stationed there and so much more. After the way the whole mission went in the city, he was half expecting to be coming back with half of what he had.

As the hidden door slid open, Gohan started to feel giddy. Not only was he productive in the mission, but he was going to see Trunks and Goten again. After that botched up mission at Cape Base, the two had been out of commission until they recovered. Knowing them, they were bouncing off the walls out of boredom.

Walking down the stairs and into the main cavern, the hustle and bustle of saiyan activity becoming evident, the group's mood brightened. It had been almost three weeks since they had last been here and feelings of homesickness had been running rampant. The moment they had enter the cavern, the whole group splintered, all of the saiyan warriors going to their families; leaving Gohan, Piccolo, and Raditz to present their mission's success. Gohan couldn't blame them. If he had loved ones to get to, he would've done the same thing. Unfortunately, he couldn't go off to find his younger companions just yet. First, he had to see Broly.

Heading towards the back, the people ignoring them like a common occurrence, the three requested a meeting with Broly and were almost immediately ushered into the small room. The familiar sight of Broly at his desk, the old politicians hovering in the back, met the three weary travelers.

A small smile playing on his lips, Broly greeted them. "I hope your mission was a success."

Returning with his own smile, Gohan nodded and placed the documents onto Broly's desk. Shuffling through the papers, Broly's smile began to widen. "Perfect. We got our site and shuttle."

Applause echoed in the room as the old men began clapping. Waving his hand to quiet them, Broly got a serious look about him. "Now for the next phase. We need volunteers to go to Earth. Gather the men. We'll announce the mission and get our volunteers."

However, before the messenger could leave the room, Piccolo stopped him. Puzzled looks came from all over the room. What was this green man up to? "What do you think you're doing?" one of the old men demanded.

Piccolo just remained silent, giving Gohan a look. Clearing his throat, Gohan began to speak. "You don't have to seek anyone to go. My own group would gladly take the mission."

Protest immediately roared throughout the office. Many of the protestors were questioning the allegiance of the four; others saying that only the people of the sanctuary should be sent and so on.

Broly just kept his eye on Gohan, studying him. As the protest continued to be waged around him, he just continued to watch. Finally, his voice tore through the chatter. "And why should we send you and your men?"

Gohan put on an impassive expression. "It's come to my attention that no one amongst the saiyans has any knowledge of the humans. Because of that, you wouldn't be able to exploit their weaknesses properly on Earth, a place where you can't afford to make a mistake. I can though. Not to mention I work more favorable around my comrades that I've fought with since this war started. Send the four of us and you'll stand the best chance of succeeding in this endeavor."

"And what if we need someone to exploit the humans here? You'd be in space or you might fail on the mission. We wouldn't be able to get this chance again," Broly countered.

Still retaining the impassive look, Gohan responded "But you wouldn't need to infiltrate human outposts. All you'd need to do is hold off the humans while we attack Earth. Like you said, we wouldn't get this chance again so why waste it on a trial run?"

Broly didn't reply. He just stared into space, lost in his thoughts. When no one thought he was going to say anything, he finally spoke. "You have a point young one. Fine, the mission's yours. The whole saiyan race is riding on this so you have no room to screw up. Understand?"

Nodding his head in confirmation, Gohan left the room, a satisfied Piccolo following him. Raditz watched in disbelief as his nephew announced his candidacy, won the job, and left the room in satisfaction. He had already lost too much of his family to this war; he wasn't going to stand by and see more of it destroyed. Storming out of the room and after Gohan, he managed to catch up to him not too far from the office and confronted the young saiyan. "What do you think you're doing?" Raditz shouted, gaining the attention of all the people in the vicinity. "What are you thinking? You're going to get you and your brother killed!"

Staring calmly at him, Gohan replied "I know what I'm doing. I'm gonna end this war with my own two hands."

"You have no idea what you're doing! Can't you see the seriousness of this?" Raditz countered.

"I can see the seriousness and I'm not going to sit back and wait for someone I've never met before to fail on the most crucial mission of this war. I'm going to ensure that the people here don't have to continue living in fear; to continue living in an overcrowded cave when they should be out on the surface, breathing in fresh air; where the children can be children and not refugees to something that they don't understand. Is that serious enough for you?"

Raditz was taken back. He had no idea that Gohan had been thinking about this. He couldn't deny that he was right but that didn't mean that he had to do it himself. All it took was just one man that could get the job done and it wasn't him. It had to be someone else, someone that Raditz didn't care about. Too much blood had been spilled on his family's account, too much of their own blood. There had to be some way to convince this hard headed youth that he didn't have to go.

Gohan shook his head. "I understand that you don't want me to go but who else can you see has the best chance at success? Nappa? Some other saiyan? It has to be me and no one else. I'm sorry." And with that, Gohan turned his back to his uncle and walked away, his will undeterred as Raditz could only look on in dismay.


	13. How About You

Here's something new I'm gonna try out. I haven't had much experience with anonymous reviewers and I don't like the fact I can't reply to them. So, I'll be leaving my review replies to them at the bottom of each chapter.

And this is kinda disappointing. You guys didn't answer my quiery. I'll just ask again and hopefully someone says something about it. What is the big deal with Dirty Dancing?

* * *

It had been a week since it was determined that Gohan, Piccolo, Trunks, and Goten were supposed to go to Earth. The first half of the week had consisted of preparations for the trip and getting plenty of rest, though that second one was harder because of the two younger saiyans. They had practically slammed Gohan through the cave wall when they were reunited. Considering that they were of teenage size and strength, it would've been a simple matter to do so. Fortunately, Gohan managed to slow then down enough to avoid traveling through countless caverns. 

The two had been upset when they found out that Gohan and Piccolo had left them behind while they were comatose. They were just about ready to chase after them to help the two out but were stopped when it was pointed out that they should've been on their way back. So they impatiently waited a week for Gohan to get back and did the first thing they could do when they saw him, which was the cave wall slamming.

The second half of the week was filled with celebration as the group was honored for their bravery. It wasn't everyday that saiyans were hearing good news these days and the thought of being able to defeat the humans was a hearty cause to get plastered. For three straight days, feasts were prepared, booze was handed out, dancing was rampant throughout the village, and anything jovial was done.

On the day before the band of saiyans were to leave, all participants left the drinking barrels and spent the day recuperating. It seemed a bunch of saiyans were going to lend their support and power, and possibly their lives, to ensure the success of the mission, or at least getting the volunteers into space. Even Broly was going to participate despite loud protest by his peanut gallery. Their protests were quickly silenced when Broly asked for them to replace him on the endeavor. If he couldn't go, then someone or some people had to go in his place.

Then the time came when the warriors left. Families gave their good byes and their best wishes for those who were leaving and for those who wouldn't return. One by one, the men walked up the stairs and joined all the others who had left before him. When all were accounted for, the tribe raced off towards their destination.

Satellite Hub.

Looking down on it from their perch on a hill, the saiyans studied its layout. Compared to the settlements and other military bases, the hub was completely different. For one thing, a majority of the base was solid concrete. A plain of concrete ranged from the south side covering up a decent sized chuck of the east and west sides. Along the north side, a horseshoe like shape of steal buildings followed in a semi circle, each building barely standing five feet from its neighbor. The buildings became taller as the semi circle reached its midpoint, the control tower with its swirling radar dish being the tallest. It wasn't the prettiest sight to behold but for the saiyans, it was the culmination of many sacrifices that had been and had yet to be made.

For what seemed like forever, the warriors waited. Many started to become restless but were put in line by a glare from Broly or Nappa. Suddenly, the moment they had been waiting for arrived. One of the steal warehouses began to open, its door retracting towards its roof and rolling on top of it. Once the door finished a tall structure of steal and metal crossbars came rolling out on huge wheels. Amongst the steal bars, a space shuttle resided, its smooth outer walls accompanied by two wings and a tailfin. The symbol of the Earth was painted on both sides of the ship, surrounded by the white paintjob.

Without hesitation, the saiyans began spreading out, slowly surrounding the base. With their plan explained in much detail, each saiyan had to hold up their side of the plan or it would fall apart.

It took some time before they were completely set up. Fortunately, the humans had been stuck in their usual routine of fueling and storing cargo on to the ship to notice anything out of the ordinary. As the ship's preparations were complete, the saiyans attacked.

Rushing into the compound, the saiyans attacked anything and everything. People, trucks, crates, anything that got in their way was laid to waste. And just as predicted, the resistance came out full force to stop them.

The first point of resistance came against Nappa's squad as they attacked form the northeast side of the base, heading straight for the control tower.

After the first row of buildings were attacked, blitz rifles were fired at the attackers, a few of the saiyan warrior falling to the barrage. Slowly, they pushed back the saiyans back to the perimeter until Nappa got fed up with the whole thing and called for a counterattack.

As the humans began to regain their confidence, ki blasts were fired back at them, pinning them down so they couldn't fire a shot without being killed. When he was sure that the soldiers were pinned down, Nappa left his hiding spot and stood in the middle of the street. Slowly, he gathered his ki towards his mouth and then fired a large ki blast, roaring as it tore through the human ranks and exploded with it hit a building, incinerating in on contact. Without hesitation the warriors pressed on back into the base.

Towards the southern end of the base, the single figure of Broly stood erect as he watched the crossfire of blitz rifles flying towards him. How these men became soldiers with such poor aim was a mystery to the saiyan, but he was generous enough to show them the correct way to shoot at an enemy. Raising his arm in front of him, Broly began to gather his ki as a small green orb appeared in his hand. Once the orb stabilized, Broly increased its size till it was about as big as his torso. Balling his other hand into a fist and raising it into a position of striking something, Broly yelled out his attack's name.

"Eraser Cannon!" he yelled as he punched the ball of energy, which in turn raced towards the humans, eliminating them as the blast burst into flames. There, that was the way to kill someone.

On a southwesterly direction, Gohan and Piccolo were proceeding closer and closer to the shuttle. Clearly, they had a huge gap between them and their fellow saiyans but they could've cared less. They had a ship to steal and they weren't going to let it get away. Blasting away like no tomorrow, they charged towards the shuttle full speed ahead.

It was then that something went horrible wrong. The humans had managed to muster some resistance and fired back at the two warriors, pinning them down and halting their progress. As they put all of their attention to the blitz beams sizzling over their heads, a blitz grenade managed to roll itself over to the warriors. The sudden explosion caught them both off guard flinging them into the air. Fortunately for Gohan, the blast only threw him to the side, keeping him low to the ground. Piccolo wasn't as fortunate as he was thrown high into the air and was promptly bombarded with the blitz beams. The lump that was his body fell to the ground, motionless as it landed, horror on Gohan's face as he saw his comrade just plop onto the ground.

Soon, anger replaced horror as Gohan managed to stand up and began firing a barrage of ki blasts at the human resistance. It wasn't long until the other saiyans managed to catch up with Gohan and began to fire more ki blasts. Turning, Gohan hurried over to his friends ruined body to see what kind of damage Piccolo had suffered.

It was worse then he had feared. Piccolo's entire left side had been blown off, along with the upper right side of his head. His right arm was amputated from the elbow and he had managed to retain one of his legs. But the blood, his purple blood, poured out of him like a river. Then Piccolo coughed, speckles of blood fleeing from his mouth. The Namekian knew he was in bad shape, that he was dying on that hard, cold concrete. Although he could regenerate, he didn't have the time or energy to pull it off as he felt himself sinking further and further into unconsciousness. He had no time left and he couldn't allow himself to die without making the Earthlings pay for their transgressions. He was the last Namekian after all and there would be no one else to avenge his people properly. As he opened his remaining eye, he saw Gohan looking down on him with horror and grief. His injuries must've looked worse then he thought, but that didn't matter. He had only one option left and he had to get it done fast.

"Ki-id," he sputtered out, blood dribbling down his chin. "I-I don't have mu-uch time. W-we have to hur-rr-ry."

A questioning look over came the saiyan. What was he talking about? There was no way Piccolo could do anything in his condition. "What are you talking about?"

A hoarse cough was all he got as an answer before "Kneel down, n-now. Hurry." Doing as he was told, Gohan knelt beside his dying friend. "Now, p-place your ha-and o-on my shoulder. Quickly now," the Namek said through heavy pants. Obeying his last requests, Gohan did as told. However, the smile he got from Piccolo was the last thing he had expected from the man. "J-just hold still n-now."

The smile dropped from his face as a contorted look of concentration replaced it. A light blue glow began to appear around his body and grew in intensity the more time passed. Gohan tried to back off but found that he couldn't, as if he was chained down to the glow. What the hell was going on?

Then the glow encompassed him suddenly. An intensely strange feeling roared through his body and mind, destroying and rebuilding his body in an instant. Gohan had no idea as to how long the aura covered him. It could've been a few seconds or it could've been hours. There was just no telling. Then, as quickly as it had begun, the aura disappeared along with Piccolo's half living remains. All that stood as evidence of the Namekian's last burial place was a large scorch mark and smoke rising from it.

Gohan panted heavily. He had no idea what had just happened. There was something different about him, that much he knew. Was it physical? No. Was it mental then? Yes, it had to be. He could feel something he hadn't felt there before, like a new awareness of sorts.

Then, without warning, Gohan felt a surge of power course its way through his body. In response to it, his body expanded, his muscle bulging abnormally. A mix of joy and pain ricocheted throughout him until it finally died down, his body returning to normal. Gohan stared down at his hands in disbelief, not because he felt something different about but because it felt like the right thing to do. He continued staring until he heard screams from in front of him. Looking up, his mind returned to the battlefield as saiyan and human adversaries waged war on each other. And from the look of things, the humans were getting ready to throw out more blitz grenades. Well, not if Gohan had anything to say about it.

Positioning himself into a stable stance, Gohan lifted his hands up until they crossed each other, both hovering in front of his forehead. Gathering his ki, Gohan quickly thrust his arms out, his hands remaining crossed, and fired the attack. "Masenko Ha!"

A large blast roared passed the saiyan warriors and ripped into the human fighters. Their screams had been almost muted from the explosion but were heard as clear as a bell by Gohan. Whatever it was that Piccolo did, it sure had a lot of benefits.

And it was back to business for the saiyans as they continued to fight their way to the shuttle. It was close to an hour before the saiyans managed to get control of the ship. The humans were still fighting back strong so they had to rush the launch. Running towards the loading ramp, Gohan ran into Trunks and Goten who had just arrived. They had felt the disappearance of Piccolo's ki and feared the worst. Gohan just waved it off and told them not to worry about it, ushering them on to the ship. With one last look back, he saluted the fighting saiyans and closed the door as Broly and a few other saluted back.

When the three saiyans managed to get in their seats, Gohan activated the launch sequence, overriding all the safeguards installed in the controls. Once the countdown reach zero, the rocket boosters ignited, lifting the shuttle from the ground, into the air, and escaping the Vegeta's atmosphere.

With their mission complete, the saiyans retreated from the Hub, satisfaction and pride running throughout the survivors. Phase one had just been completed. All they had to do was keep the humans at bay until Gohan and the others completed their task.

Or die trying.

* * *

To DragonGirl: What about Gohan did you want to know? There's so much I can tell you. Thanks for your review. 


	14. Outside

Well, I got a better response to my question this time, yet I'm still very far from getting the answer I seek. So far I got dancing and romance as the reasons for this obsession. I'd appreciate more input from all you readers. For anyone who wants to answer, feel free to do so anytime. I'll just keep posting the results till I've come to a conclusion. And if I can't have this question answered by the end of this fic...

You can bet your ass I'll be asking it in the next one.

And now on with the show...story...thingy...

* * *

The sound of footsteps hitting marble floor echoed throughout the corridor. As with any structure of marble, a chill seemed to hang all around, the thought of heat always a constant thought. However, this individual didn't really care whether he was cold or hot or anything. He had more pressing matters to be concerned with. 

An elderly gentleman walked this chilly hallway, his long white hair flowing down to his shoulder blades, his moustache sticking out raggedly, clear blue eyes that reflected everything and nothing on his wrinkled face. His odd garments of brown pants, yellow shirt with a black vest and a tall black hat made him a sight to behold.

This man was none other then the twentieth chair of the Earth's parliament, the overall leader of the planet, Gero.

Though he may have appeared fragile and weak to all who caught a glimpse of him, his mind was forever a constant hurricane, his genius unmatched by anyone on the planet. At the current moment, that mind of his was hard at work, his worries shown clearly on his old face.

Public approval for his latest campaigns had begun to dwindle, just like with the war against Vegeta. Fortunately for that fight, they had managed to win, restoring the people's faith in his ability to protect the planet from foreign invaders, or at least that's what he told the people. However, the constant fighting with the Cold family in the northernmost reaches of the universe was beginning to take a toll. Those lizards wouldn't give up an inch unless they had to and at the current moment, they were in a stalemate. Then the fighting at Majiventa came to mind, reminding him what a complete disaster the campaign had been thus far. Apparently the planet had a guardian that could wipe out an entire fleet of his attack force and such a thing was not sitting well with Gero.

But those weren't his only problems. Since humans had been able to leave Earth, every single chair holder had been united in the belief of take over and expansion. Unfortunately, one of the chairs was starting to rethink his position on human military use. That would mean that Gero would have to start curtailing his aggressiveness in space, which was not something he wanted to do.

Coming to the end of the corridor, large wooden doors standing in front of him, Gero pushed them open, allowing him access to the chamber behind them. In the room a horseshoe shaped table sat, twenty chairs sitting along the table, an even space separating each chair from each other. At the moment, only three of the chairs were occupied.

As Gero sat down in his place at the center of the table, he took note of the occupants. Sitting to Gero's left was a fairly young man with long black hair and crystal blue eyes, much like Gero's. Though a great deal more youthful then the old man, his handsomeness was something girls would die for. Wearing his cut upped blue jeans, a long sleeved white shirt with a black T-shirt covering it, his orange bandana hanging loosely around his neck, the youth sprawled in his chair like any teenager would do in a recliner. He was known as Angie Zeventien to everyone that knew him.

Sitting next to Angie, a beautiful blond woman sat, her hair just as long as Angie's and the same blue eyes. She too wore blue jeans, along with a long sleeved striped shirt. Unlike the man beside her, she sat properly in her chair, back resting on the back of the chair, her legs crossed. She was known as Hatchi Chestnut.

Finally, Gero looked to his right, taking in the other occupant. This one was the most mysterious of all the chairs. He was a squat and portly man, his face completely white and the same blue eyes as everyone here. He wore a get up much similar to Gero himself, orange pants with a light yellow vest over a black shirt, a yellow hat on his head with a black strip going around the edge and a spike on the top completing his costume. Out of everyone here, only Gero knew who he was; only known as Nineteen due to him being the nineteenth chair.

With a quick nod to those who were there, Gero turned his attention to the other empty chairs, two of which would be occupied momentarily. For the other fourteen chairs no one would occupy them. When Gero had initially seized power, he did away with quite a few of the peskier ones. Some had had unfortunate accidents while others had the bad luck to disappear. While no one knew what happened to those that had disappeared, Gero knew exactly what happened to them. Once they had been captured, Gero had experimented on them while they were still alive. Due to his sudden increase in specimens, he managed to develop quite a bit of technology, especially in the field of cybernetic enhancement. It was amazing what one could do with mechanical parts replacing one's weak points.

Suddenly, the front doors to the chamber opened, revealing a young man entering his prime years. He wore green pants with a yellow vest that exposed his muscular chest, brown gloves covering his hands. A red hat covered his long white hair with a confident smirk on his face. Once again, this member of the group also had blue eyes. "How ya'll doin' now?" he greeted with a southern accent, taking his place three chairs down from Nineteen. Leaning back into his chair, his arms up with his hands resting on the back of his head, he placed his black booted feet on the table much to the disgust of Hatchi. "Don't you know that's rude?" she reprimanded.

Still holding his smirk, he replied "I don't know where you're from missy, but where I come from no one gives a rat's ass."

Hatchi didn't respond, disgust still evident on her face. She turned her attention elsewhere to avoid looking at the southerner's feet.

Gero shook his head. Tretton was always looking for a way to annoy Hatchi. As much as he found the man annoying himself, he couldn't help but admit that his charisma was something useful. He had found the boy on the streets, starving and nameless. After giving him an offer that he couldn't refuse, he raised the lad for as long as he could before sending him out into the world, so he could study the boy's reaction to it. When the boy came back, he returned with some of the worst habits Gero had ever seen, that annoying accent, and a different name. At the time of his departure into the world, Gero had been trying to make him into a fine young gentleman, the name of Trieze being his more refined name. All of that work had gone to waste within a few months time. But he was a people's person; he did have to give him credit for that.

The room returned to silence for quite some time before the last member of the counsel arrived. Gero's eyes narrowed. Here was his trouble maker: Jericho Sedici. The man towered over the others, his muscular body showing through the spandex he wore, though the green armor that Gero made for him stuck out as odd. His red Mohawk stood proud atop his somber expression. However, his eyes, though they were blue as everyone else, held a more peaceful quality rather than the sharp gazes of the others.

Taking his seat, Jericho turned his attention to Gero, signaling he was ready for the meeting to start.

"I'm glad that all of you could make it," Gero began. "I hope you're aware of our present predicament."

"So them lizards still given ya trouble pops?" Tretton announced amusedly.

"Yes they are, but that's not what I'm talking about," Gero snapped. "I'm referring to our people and how they're starting to back off our cause."

"Yeah, we heard about it," Angie spoke up fluidly. "What do you want us to do about it?"

Gero shot him a glare. "I'd like for you to get to the bottom of why this is happening, now."

"It's because of you," a monotone voice said. All eyes turned to Jericho as he continued to speak. "The people have become aware of your abuses. They wish to gain new leadership at this time."

"What do you mean new leadership?" Gero cried out. "I've never abused my power. I've always done what was needed to be done, nothing more, nothing less."

"That is not what the people believe anymore," Jericho replied. "They are getting tired of losing all of their young men to your wars. They wish that you'd stop the fighting and bring the men home. And I for one agree with them."

Gero's eyes widen in astonishment. After everything he had done for them, they just turned their backs on it and wished to do away with him. It was preposterous that they should feel that way to the man who single handed relieved them of their poor living conditions. About the time of the first space voyage, Earth had been in a state of decay from the abuses of men. In order to relieve the stress that was being inflicted, a plan for setting up colonies on Mars became viable. But the sudden discovery of the Martians threw that whole plan down the drain. When all seemed lost, it was Gero who decided to make the claim of a threat to solve their problem and it worked. From Mars to Celestian, that plan worked, showing little signs of slowing down until the war with the saiyans showed that the excuse was getting old. No one could've predicted the ten year war that erupted, taxing the humans patients until a hero emerged to win the war for them.

Returning to his former state of calmness, Gero stared at Jericho. "So what do you propose sixteenth chair?"

"I propose we have an election to determine the new leadership. I will leave you all now to consider my proposal." With that said, Jericho left the chamber, leaving the others to their own thoughts.

Once the tall man left Gero cleared his throat. "I believe we all need to consider the sixteenth chair's proposal on our own accords. I adjourn this meeting as of now." Standing up, he touched Nineteen's shoulder to get his attention. "I'd like to have a word with you."

Nodding his confirmation, the two left the room. As they walked down the corridors that Gero had used earlier, the old man spoke "I want you to send Twenty One. Do you understand?"

A computerized voice responded, "I will see to it that it is done."

"Good," was all that was said as the two separated at the end of the corridor.

* * *

Videl was staring at the roof of her room when she first heard about it. Erasa had nearly busted the door down holding the latest report of saiyan activity. Excitement was clearly the dominant emotion radiating off the blond as she waved the sheets of paper in front of Videl's face. It had taken awhile but she managed to pry the report away from the girl. But what she read was not what she had expected.

A couple nights ago, a large saiyan force, bigger then any seen since the war ended, had attacked a military base known as a landing port for shuttles. Apparently, the saiyans wanted to use the latest launch for their own uses, driving the human soldiers away from the prepared shuttle and loaded a few of their own to launch into space. Once the ship had left, the saiyans retreated, very unlike their usual blow-the-whole-base-to-kingdom-come tactics, and left the guards to scratch their heads in confusion. There was no description of who the saiyans that boarded the ship were but somehow a security camera, that hadn't been destroyed, got a glimpse of the space travelers.

Looking up at Erasa, Videl said "We need to get our hands on this tape. Any ideas?"

A puzzled look crossed the blond girl's face. "Why can't you use your dad's influence again? Its worked so far."

Videl shook her head before responding. "I've been using it a little too much lately. The officers are starting to get a little immune to it. We need to use something else."

Both girls sat in silence before Erasa got a smirk on her face. "You wait here Videl. I'll get us that tape."

Videl looked up at her curiously. "How do you plan on getting it?"

Erasa just smiled. "Are you sure you want to know?"

Videl couldn't suppress the chill that ran down her back. "I don't think I want to know. Just as long as you can get that tape."

Still smiling, Erasa nodded and left the room. As Videl began to wait, she laid down on her bed, closing her eyes. Videl had no idea how long it would take for her friend to get the tape so she figured she might as well get some shut eye while she waited. It wasn't until Erasa once again busted into the room, tape in had and a little disheveled, that the Satan girl woke up. Waking up with a start, Videl leapt off her bed and fell into a stance to ward off any attackers before dropping the stance upon seeing the worn out Erasa.

"What happened to you?" Videl asked looking Erasa up and down.

"I got the tape!" Erasa announced, holding the tape high in the air like a trophy. "And it was a good thing that guard was cute."

Videl shook her head, rubbing her temple. "Erasa, I don't even want to know."

Unfortunately, Erasa didn't listen. "I hadn't even expected to go that far but one thing led to another and the next thing I know, I'm trying to catch my breath with the tape sitting right next to me. I've had better though—"

"Erasa," Videl said through clenched teeth. "If you don't shut up and play that damn tape, I'm gonna rip your head off and use it for a soccer ball."

Sighing disappointedly, the blond girl walked over to the TV and put the video in the VCR. After pressing play, Erasa sat down on the other bed in the room and watched as the screen went black. Soon the scene showed the base as it prepared the ship for launch. After sitting through that, suddenly a mass of saiyans appeared attacking anything and everything. Both girls watched in astonishment as each saiyan destroyed and died. Soon, three figures approached the main hatch to the shuttle; they seemed to argue a little before jumping into the ship. Videl paused the video before rewinding it and pausing it when she got a good look at the three passengers. Studying it closely, Videl could easily pick out one of the three as Gohan. Even if the guy got a haircut and wore a mask, she would've been able to pick him out. The other two though confused her. One looked a little like Gohan though with wilder hair while another one had lavender hair. Never had she seen a saiyan with that kind of attribute before Erasa piped up. "I've seen that one before."

"What?" Videl said turning to look at the girl better.

"I've seen that guy with the purple hair before. He showed up in town a couple days before you were seen with Gohan. Had no idea he was a saiyan though."

Videl froze. So Gohan had been inspecting the town long before they ran into each other. A few things started to come into place then. Gohan must've been looking for something at Cash's mansion and got his hands on it while she was stunned in disbelief with the Namek evidence. Then the attack on New Central had eerily similar circumstances. The missing town leader, missing information files, and then the sudden attacks on military bases; all of them with Gohan involved. It looked like the saiyans were really changing their tactics in their private war. But what was the point of sending some of their own into space? Wouldn't they need every able bodied man to fight? So many answers raised new questions for the confused Videl.

After sitting in silence, Videl finally spoke "What would be the point in sending some of your own warriors into space?"

"Don't know," Erasa replied. "That's something you'd asked a military guy."

Videl fell silent. Then something popped into her head. "Where was that shuttle going?"

Erasa perked up. "That's a good question but I don't know where we'd go to get the answer."

Not completely deterred, Videl pressed on. "We need to know what kind of information Gohan stole and what was significant about stealing that shuttle."

"But there would only be one person that would have a clue to that," Erasa said. "That surviving body guard is the only person who I can think of that would have an idea of what was in that info."

"It's not the best start but it's a start nonetheless," Videl replied. "I think I'll make the arrangements to meet him."

* * *

It wasn't long until Videl was right where she wanted to be. It had taken a few well placed threats and a couple of examples but she got clearance to see the disgraced warrior. Before her, sitting on the ground, back against the wall with one leg sticking out before him and one bent at the knee as he rested his arm on it, the three eyed bodyguard looked at the girl emotionlessly. The man known as Tien was still in the same clothes he was in that fateful night so long ago. Videl stared at the man before she worked up the nerve to begin her visit. "Uhh, hi. I was wondering if you could help me with something that I need help with."

Tien just stared at the small girl, not speaking a word.

Videl coughed nervously. "Umm, do you know anything about the information the saiyans stole a few weeks ago?"

Tien scowled. "I've been asked that question one too many times missy. I'm not gonna answer it again."

Videl looked at him astonished before trying to argue her case. "Have you heard what happened at the Satellite Hub?"

Tien cocked an eyebrow. "I might have heard a little about it. Why?"

"I think there was a connection to the attack with the one here."

That got Tien's interest. It would explain the reason why there were saiyans in the city. But there was one flaw with it. How could this girl be so sure about the connection?

"And what proof do you have on this?"

"There was an attack very similar to the one here at East Fort. Both times the town leader went missing, information was stolen, infiltration into human settlement, and then the subsequent attack on a military base."

"And it's because of this that you think there's a connection between the two?" Tien asked skeptically.

Videl smirked slightly. "There was one saiyan involved in both attacks and he's the one you fought."

It was faster then the little girl could see. One moment the disgruntled fighter was leaning against the back wall and the next moment he was at the jail bars looking at Videl intensely. "Are you positive about that?"

A little shocked, Videl nodded her response. Then she got a hold of her faculties and continued her case. "I think the saiyans are changing their tactics. Never before have they blatantly attacked human civilians and I was wonder why now? Why have they decided to just go after noncombatants?"

Dropping his intense stare, Tien fell into thought. "It could be they're trying a different approach," he finally stated.

"What do you mean?" Videl asked confused.

"In war, some people try to get their enemy's civilians against the war by attacking them. With the recent talks I've heard from Earth, people are getting tired of fighting long wars without an end in sight. The saiyans might be trying to capitalize on that."

Videl frowned. "But what would be the point in sending a few of their own into space? That doesn't fit in with this whole thing."

Tien had to admit that the girl had a point. Although he had heard very little about the recent attack, he had managed to gather that a shuttle was stolen. But if you were going to terrorize your enemy's people, why leave the ones already here? Unless…

Watching as Tien thought, Videl faintly saw a look of realization flash through his eyes. She had been trying to read any emotion that appeared on his face for quite awhile now but gave up because of Tien's ability to hide his emotions. That flash in his eyes though gave away that Tien knew something she didn't. "What are you thinking about? I know you just figured something out, so spill it."

Tien schooled his features before returning her query. "If the saiyans are trying to turn the people against war, where would be the best place to do it?"

That was not what Videl had expected. "How should I know that? Just tell me, okay?"

Tien smirked. "All the saiyans had to do was attack the settlements here to get the humans to abandon the fighting. Where else could they go to get the same results?"

Videl frowned. This guy wasn't making anything easier for her. "Fine, I'll play your game. The only place a saiyan could attack human civilians, besides here, would be…on…" Videl trailed off, realization dawning on her.

Tien still continued to smirk. "And that would be where?"

Videl could only say one word to that. "Earth."

"Glad you can think on your toes Ms. Satan," Tien said mockingly. "So what are you going to do now?"

Coming out of her reverie, Videl answered "I guess I'm going to Earth."

Tien gave her mock applause. "Good for you. You better be on your way then."

Videl nodded before turning away. She didn't get far, though, as she turned back to address Tien again. "You know? I could use a good body guard on my trip. Care to join me?"

Tien ears perked up. "You can get me out of here?"

Videl nodded. "It shouldn't be too hard being the daughter of a hero and all. I'll just get the paperwork ready."

Tien grinned. "So where do I sign?"

* * *

To Tokioko: Wow. Up until now, I could only count on one finger the number of girls that didn't like the movie. You have you're own finger now. Congrats. 

To Mizz-Madam aka Too lazy to log in: Hey, long time no see. Glad you like the fic so far. And now you get to join my ever growing club of anti Dirty Dancing...people. Welcome to the club.


	15. Schizophrenic Conversations

This has been an odd turn of events. I was expecting to get so many reasons why Dirty Dancing is the best movie of the ages or something, but all I've gotten is people thinking it's about as good as a runny nose. I guess I can to the wrong site to figure this question out but oh well. At least I know there are those who don't worship the ground that movie walks on...at least I think people don't do that...or do they?

* * *

Three days. It had been three days since the three saiyans had left Vegeta and Gohan was slowly losing his mind. The first day they had practically slept through due to their previously taxing day of stealing the shuttle. That had been alright. The second day they had been out and about looking through the windows to see the vastness of space. Being that the three had never been to space, it was a marvel to them. Though it had managed to keep their attention for a while, they eventually ended the day either meditating, in Gohan's case, or playing some kind of game, in Trunks and Goten's case. The games had been alright since they were old saiyan military games used to sharpen a warrior's skills. It was when they had gone to playing little kid games that Gohan's nerve got on edge. Currently they were in the middle of their third day and the two younger saiyans were still playing those kid games. 

And it was driving Gohan insane.

Just a moment of peace and quiet was all he asked for, just one moment and he would happily endure the rest of the trip in insanity.

"Enough!" Gohan shouted, spinning around in his chair, surprising Trunks and Goten. "Stop with the kid games already! Your teenagers for crying out loud!"

Trunks and Goten continued to stare at Gohan. Was the guy going to go berserk or something? If so, then neither wanted to be in Gohan's line of sight.

Suddenly the shuttle was jerked severely, tossing the saiyans out of their chairs and across the room. It was almost comical the way they bounced around like bouncy balls. But their midair stunts came to an abrupt end as each saiyan landed on the ground. Jumping off the floor, Gohan rushed over to the control console, trying to figure out what was going on. Trunks and Goten in the meantime, were putting themselves back together after that sudden trip.

"Well that was fun. Can't wait to do it again," Trunks said sarcastically as he rubbed his head.

Goten looked up at Trunks with a questioning look. "So you liked that?"

Trunks turned his attention to Goten. "No you baka. I was being sarcastic."

"Oh…so is there anything we need to be doing?" Goten responded

"Don't think so. Looks like Gohan's taking care of it." Trunks answered.

Nodding his head, Goten got up and walked over to a window to look outside. "Um, guys," he said apprehensively, "I think I know what caused that jerking."

Gohan turned away from the control board. "And what's that?"

Pointing out the window, Goten answered "That."

Walking over towards his little brother with a puzzled look, Gohan looked out the window and gasped. Outside was a very large ship, it's green and orange colors filling up the entire window view.

If that ship caused the shaking, then that meant whoever it was on the ship was trying to board their vessel. Maybe they could have a little fun here before continuing to Earth. Gohan smirked. Oh this would be such a lovely distraction from the boredom the three had been facing previously. Turning to the other two Saiyans, Gohan addressed them. "It looks like we got a little company on board. We might as well say hello."

Trunks and Goten nodded, identical smirks written on their faces. It was about time they got to do something other than waiting. Walking over to the door, Trunks moved to open it when he suddenly stopped. Looking over at him, Gohan saw the strained look on Trunks' face, as if he was resisting something.

Goten took a step forward, calling out to Trunks. "Hey Trunks, what's—" and that was as far as he got before he stopped talking. An identical look of strain covered his face.

Before Gohan could say or do anything, he felt some kind of force bind him. What ever that force was, Gohan didn't like it, nor was he about to be so easily subdued and began resisting the sudden paralysis on his body. He got a good idea what the other two were feeling at that moment as he strained to free himself. It was madness. How could this force so easily capture three saiyan warriors? And who could have that much power? And what kind of power was this that could paralyze him within a split second?

The door opened then, revealing two figures. One of them was a short blue man wearing a red shirt, white pants with a purple drape in front of it, and a turban of the same color as the drape. The other was a taller, more muscular blue man with an orange Mohawk and facial hair surrounding his mouth and chin. He wore only a purple vest with white pants and yellow gloves. Both of them had blue eyes that match each other with confidence, smirks firmly on their faces.

"Not too many on this one," the taller man said, taking in the saiyans before him.

The smaller one nodded. "Should be easier to take them aboard, shouldn't it?"

The taller one nodded before lifting up Trunks and taking him away. The smaller one did the same with Goten, leaving Gohan alone in his invisible confinement. Naturally, this made the saiyan mad. How could these guys treat them like they had just defeated them when they hadn't even thrown a punch? Gohan would show those bastards who they were exactly dealing with. Putting more effort into his resistance, Gohan still couldn't free himself from his bonds. It was frustrating that he couldn't move when nothing was visibly holding him.

It was then that Gohan felt something in the back of his head. It was an odd feeling, as if it shouldn't have been there, but it wasn't doing any harm either. This thing in the back of his started to get familiar all of a sudden. He had felt this before at the Satellite Hub. It was that awareness and it was doing something again.

In that moment, the invisible bindings vanished, the strain his body was showing previously disappeared. How ever that awareness did what he could not was of little concern to Gohan at the moment. He had to go get Goten and Trunks from those bastards, who ever they were, first before he could worry about this thing in his head. Taking off down the corridor, Gohan found a docking ramp that had forced its way into the shuttle's side. Well, the ship was now useless, but Gohan would have to worry about that problem later. He dash down the ramp into the other ship, anger clouding his mind.

After he boarded the ship, Gohan started focusing on the kis of Trunks and Goten. After a few moments, he managed to locate them and started heading in their direction. As he was running down a long corridor, the tall man from before turned a corner and saw him.

Reacting as fast as he could, Gohan fired a ki blast at him which his opponent dodged and leapt at him, yelling a war cry. Gohan stopped his running and dropped into a defensive stance, blocking the blue man's first strike at his head. His opponent countered the block with an uppercut, which Gohan managed to swat away, counterattacking with his knee. Jumping back, the blue man threw a roundhouse kick which Gohan once again blocked, but was thrown a little off balance. Taking advantage of Gohan's misstep, the blue man pulled his leg back and did another roundhouse, nailing Gohan in the head.

Falling to the ground, Gohan recovered his composure and landed on all fours, facing away from his enemy. Snapping his head to look behind him, Gohan kicked the blue man's stationary leg out from under him. The blue man caught himself by pushing his arm out with his hands landing on the floor, stopping his fall, and firing a ki blast at the saiyan soon after.

Pushing off with his right side, Gohan narrowly dodge the blast as he stood on his left arm and leg. Pushing off the ground with his leg, Gohan dashed down the corridor with his back facing the ground a couple feet below him; putting space between him and his opponent, but the guy wouldn't have any of it. Using a burst of speed, the man appeared right in front of the retreating fighter and slammed his palm into Gohan's chest, which in turn slammed the saiyan into the ground.

After coming to a stop and rolling onto his knees and forearms, Gohan tried to recover but suddenly felt a foot plant itself under his chin, forcing to leave the ground and seem to hover in midair parallel to the walls. Just as Gohan started to fall back to the floor, a hand grabbed him by the throat and started choking him. Grabbing on to his choker's arm, Gohan tried to loosen the hold on his neck but was failing miserably.

The man's voice then reached his ears. "I enjoyed that kiddy. Too bad you couldn't last a little longer."

Gohan couldn't retort for obvious reasons. As he was slowly starting to lose consciousness, he felt the awareness start to make it self known again. Instead of freeing him like last time, it started feeding him information on how to do a specific technique. It showed everything from how to gather the ki, where to focus it, and how to fire it. At the present moment, Gohan didn't see much he could do but follow the directions, so he hurriedly gathered the ki and launched the attack.

Two thin beams shot out of Gohan's eyes, piercing his enemy's shoulder which caused the man to drop Gohan and hold his shoulder, screaming in pain. As Gohan's first choked coughs erupted from his mouth, the saiyan dashed to the opposite end of the hallway to slowly recover himself. Massaging his throat as he coughed ragged coughs, Gohan began to catch his second wind when he stopped hearing his opponent's screams.

Without hesitating, Gohan jerked his body around; his arm outstretched, and fired a ki blast. The blast caught the blue man off guard, blowing a hole through his body. Blood started dribbling out of his mouth and down his chin as the blue man fell to his knees and promptly collapsed.

Gohan let his battle lust die as he breathed heavily. That was close. Had he not heard the screaming stop, the saiyan would not have been in the best of situations. The guy had started charging him and was fortunately stopped about five feet away. Once he composed himself, Gohan began his journey to find Trunks and Goten again.

Unfortunately, he didn't get too far. As he rounded the corner, a large blue fist came out of nowhere and nailed the saiyan in the face. Landing roughly on the back, Gohan looked up at his attacker and only saw the bottom of a boot as it plunged him into darkness.

* * *

"Ugghhh," was the first thing Gohan said as he came back into consciousness. His face hurt…a lot. Who ever that guy who dropped him was had to be very strong. It wasn't everyday that some fighter could deck the saiyan with just one blow.

Taking in his surroundings, the typical holding cell met the saiyan. The small room was only about as big as Gohan when he was lying down, lengthwise and widthwise. There wasn't even a bed or toilet in the cell. Apparently who ever stayed in here didn't live very long if they weren't even given the accommodations of a toilet. That or they didn't care if you relieved yourself in the corner or in your pants.

Gohan found himself lying against the wall, his legs sprawled out in front of him. At least they didn't throw him in here at an uncomfortable angle.

_(About time you woke up kid)_

Jerking straight up, Gohan madly looked around him. He could've sworn he heard Piccolo's voice.

_(You're not dreamin' kid. It's me)_

"Where are you?" was the only intelligent response Gohan could come up with, looking all over for the source of the green man's voice.

_(The only place I can be. In your head)_

"How did you get in there?"

Gohan heard a dry chuckle. _(You remember what happened at the base? When I asked you to put your hand on my shoulder?)_

Gohan nodded. "Yeah and then that weird light show happened. What's that have to do with anything?"

_(I'm a little disappointed kid. I thought you'd be able to guess by now, but it looks like I'm gonna have to spell it out for you. That light show as you called it was me fusing with you)_

Gohan's eyes widened. "Fusing? How? Why?"

_(It was pretty obvious that I was going to die back at the base. I didn't have enough time to gather the energy required to fully regenerate myself. So I took a drastic measure and fused with you. In the process, I've passed every skill and technique at my disposal and they are now yours to use as you wish)_

Gohan blinked his eyes before his mind began connecting many dots. "You're that awareness that I keep feeling. You showed me how to use that eyebeams technique and broke that invisible binding on me."

_(I knew you'd catch on. Yeah, that was me and it's about time I step in again)_

'What?' was all that Gohan could think. However, as he started to voice his confusion, he heard Piccolo chuckle again and said _(Look at your arms)_

Following the directions, Gohan saw his arms bound by a weird looking, metal device. Testing it, Gohan found that he couldn't break the bonds, nor could he use his eyebeams since the moment he began gathering ki, the device sucked it out of his body. What was this thing?

_(Just a moment)_ was all Gohan heard as he suddenly felt a quick burst of ki and the bonds short circuited. With the device incapacitated, Gohan easily broke the restraints, dusting off the small debris.

Standing up, Gohan took a hold on the cell bars. When no safeguards activated, Gohan ripped the bars from their place, creating a gap between the other bars. Stepping through his newly created exit, Gohan started to pinpoint Trunks and Goten's kis. It took a couple minutes but he managed to find them, both being a little low for Gohan's tastes.

It didn't take long for the saiyan to find them slumped in their cells, each with those odd metal restraints on them. Tearing open each of their cells and using Piccolo's circuitry frying trick, the two teens came too, replenished from the surges of their ki returning to them.

"Gohan, what's going on?" Goten asked, a little lost due to his surroundings.

Gohan shook his head. "No for time for that. We need to get off this ship as quickly as possible. Our ship is too damaged to use it again so we need to find some kind of escape pod or see if they have another ship."

Trunks nodded his confirmation. "We should split up. If one of us finds something, we can alert the others by spiking our ki."

"Good idea. Now try to do this as quietly as possible. Don't want to alert anyone to our presences. If you have to, kill anyone you come across."

With the plan set in stone, the three fighters took off in three different directions. Looking for some possible means of escape.

In one part of the ship, Gohan discovered what appeared to be sleeping quarters for the crew of the ship. Stalking the corridors, he head a door open ahead of him. Flinging himself around a corner, Gohan peeked around it and saw a lovely blue woman with long, curly orange hair, wearing a velvet red robe in which she was tying the robe's belt in a knot, exiting a room. A deep voice called her attention, in which she answered something unintelligible from where Gohan stood. She then closed the door and walked away from Gohan and entered a room at the other end of the corridor.

Seeing no point in investigating this hallway further, Gohan followed another leading away from the sleeping quarters.

* * *

It had been awhile since Trunks had been with Gohan and Goten. So far he hadn't been about to find anything that could've been useful for their escape. And now, he was starting to have thoughts of being lost which would be just perfect for the saiyan.

Suddenly, Trunks felt a ki fluctuate. Reaching behind his head and grabbing his sword hilt, Trunks crouched slightly, senses trained on finding the ki he felt. He knew that it wasn't his comrades so he quickly concluded that it had to be one of the blue ship owners.

It was barely audible but with his saiyan hearing, Trunks caught the soft scraping of a foot heel on the floor, alerting the saiyan to the presence of someone behind him. With quick reflexes, Trunks spun around, drawing his sword and slicing the air until his blade met with the edge of another sword. The sound of steel striking each other echoed off of the corridor's walls.

Trunks examined his opponent, his orange hair spiking in different directions along with similar blue skin to his friends, his red half shirt with black sleeves, white pants, and purple headband covering him. The sword looked to be very valuable with its golden hilt and three cornered base. Compared to Trunks' own sword, it was about a foot longer and perhaps a little lighter too, for fast handling and quick strikes. From the way his opponent held his sword, he wasn't used to fighting foes using his swordsmanship.

Leaping backwards, Trunks settled into a defensive stance, sword pointing at his opponent's chest. The blue man dropped into a crouched position, his both hands on his sword hilt and hold the sword perpendicular to his body, sword point aimed at Trunks. With a war cry, the blue man attacked, slicing his sword at Trunks' head. Using a simple parry, Trunks knocked the attack away, counterattacking and cutting the man across his chest. His opponent jumped back, surprised at the wound as blood leaked from it.

"That's got to ruin your day," Trunks said mockingly. The blue man's reaction was just what Trunks wanted as the man bared his teeth and tried another attack, swinging the sword low and slicing upwards. Trunks parried and tried another counterattack, but his opponent blocked it this time and did a counterattack of his own, slicing at Trunks' chest to give the saiyan the same wound he had given him. Once again, Trunks blocked the cut and riposte, nicking the warrior's sword arm shoulder. As the blue man grabbed his shoulder, Trunks leapt into the air and kicked the mediocre swordsman in the face, sending him down the corridor.

"Not as good as I though you'd be," Trunks mocked again. This time the swordsman got up from the floor, with an angry look on his face, and threw his sword at Trunks, the sword spinning through the air. Treating the attack as a thrust, Trunks parried the flying sword, sending it into the wall where it bounced off and crashed onto the floor behind him, the clanging of the metal on metal echoing throughout the hallway.

Keeping his attention on his foe, Trunks saw that the blue man hadn't tried to attack him while he had his focus on the sword. Instead, he seemed to be concentrating. What he was concentration on, Trunks didn't know until he felt the man's ki spike.

Giving out a low chuckle, the blue man spoke for the first time. "You may be my better when it comes to a sword, but let's see if you can fight against this."

It was in that moment, that man changed. His thin blue body, bulked up considerable, turning a light green. His orange hair took on a reddish tint and his purple headband also turned red. The black sleeves on his shirt were torn off, exposing his bulked up arm muscles. Trunks slowly sheathed his sword. He had a feeling that his sword was going to be useless here.

In the blink of an eye, the blue man disappeared, reappearing in front of Trunks, ramming his shoulder into Trunks' gut. Letting out a small gasp and losing what ever breath he had from the vicious hit, Trunks flew down the corridor, holding onto his stomach. By some kind of luck, the saiyan landed on his feet, but that luck changed with a light green fist nailed him in the face.

However, Trunks didn't allow himself to fly back this time, throwing a punch of his own which was caught easily by his opponent. "Where's that cocking mouth of yours now boy?"

Not one to take an insult lightly, Trunks fired a ki blast which the green man simply leaned his head back, allowed the blast to pass, and then threw his head forward, colliding with Trunks' head. Trunks, in turn, let out a scream of pain, grabbing his bruised forehead with his free hand. However, he was jerked forward by the arm still kept captive by the green man. The warrior then grabbed Trunks by the head and slammed him face first into the wall, creating a large hole in the wall.

Stepping through the hole, the transformed swordsman noticed small bits of rubble at his feet. Looking in front of him, he saw Trunks getting up on the other side of the room that he had crashed into. The purple headed youth turned to look at his foe, an angry expression on his face. He wiped some of the blood that was sliding down his face, the angered look never leaving him.

Drawing his sword, Trunks threw the weapon at his enemy much like the swordsman had done earlier. The warrior moved to dodge the projectile which gave Trunks his opening. Using a burst of speed, Trunks appeared behind his opponent and jackhammered him in the back of the head, causing the green man to stumble forward, caught off guard. Raising his hands above his head, Trunks formed a large yellow energy ball. "Let's see you dodge this!" he cried out. "Finish Buster!" and with that, Trunks threw the ball at the green man, who was slowly turning around. The blast engulfed the green man, incinerating him almost immediately. The explosion that soon followed blew Trunks out of the room, across the hallway, and through another wall into another room.

Standing back up and brushing himself off, Trunks walked into the ruined corridor and saw the extent of the damage he caused. "Eh he he, I think I overdid it a little," was the first thing he could say. The room he had been thrown out of was completely gone, the rooms above, below, and to the sides of it opening up into one big room. Well there went the whole "being quiet" plan.

A sparkle of light caught Trunks' eyes. Turning, he saw his sword had managed to escape the earlier destruction, it being thrown into the hallway before the explosion occurred. He walked over and sheathed the blade before running down the hallways, trying to get as far away as he possible could. People would be showing up soon and he wasn't in the mood to be fighting who knows how many more blue men.

* * *

Goten snapped his head to look behind him. He had felt the shockwave from an explosion that Trunks seemed to have caused. He'd been keeping an eye on the whole fight once he had felt Trunks' ki rise. Trunks was gonna be in big trouble when Gohan got his hands on him. The saiyan practically announced to the whole ship that they had escaped.

Goten pushed those thoughts away from his mind. He had more important things to worry about. Entering a fairly well lit room, he took notice of the finery. Red carpet covered the floor as a crystal chandelier hung from the tiled roof. Expensive vases lined the walls all around the large room. Goten whistled. There was a lot of expensive stuff in here and the little saiyan would've gladly tried to pocket some of it if he had the time and pockets to do so.

"I see you like our treasure little one," a voice said behind him. Whipping around, Goten saw the turban headed blue man floating upside down behind him, a small smile on his lips. Goten didn't like that smile at all, so he did the only thing he could do get rid of it, throwing a punch at the blue man.

The turban head caught the punch easily enough. "Tsk, tsk, you shouldn't treat people so in their own home," he reprimanded.

Scowling, Goten then head butted Turban Head, causing him to let go of Goten's fist and gripping his face in pain. Maneuvering himself, Turban Head set his feet on the ground and removed his hands from his face, glaring. "You're gonna regret that one boy."

"Oh yeah? Then prove it," Goten taunted as he dropped into his fighting stance.

Giving out a war cry, Turban Head attacked with a flurry of punches which Goten blocked and tried to counterattack. It was when he tried to counterattack that the blue man disappeared and reappeared behind the saiyan, punching Goten in the back of the head. Goten was thrown forward but caught himself, using his hands to stop his fall and flipped himself onto his feet. Turning around, Goten charged at his opponent.

In response, Turban Head dashed away backwards, keeping Goten in sight at all times. He then raised both his hands and fired a ki blast at the charging saiyan. Reacting immediately, Goten dodged to his left and continued running in that direction as ki blast after ki blast was fired at him. The explosions from the blasts hitting the walls and pottery shook the room severely.

Getting tired of running, Goten fired his own ki blast at Turban Head causing the blue man to dodge the blast; just as Goten had planned. Using a burst of speed, the saiyan appeared in front of the landing blue man, crouched low and threw a sweeping low kick to knock Turban Head off his feet. However, Turban Head leapt over the kick and threw a kick at Goten's head. Goten caught the kick and swung his opponent around, throwing Turban Head across the room. His foe recovered in mid flight, stopping his flight midair and upside down, and fired another ki blast at the saiyan.

Deciding not to run this time, Goten slapped the beam back at Turban Head, surprising the blue man. The blue man shot towards the floor to dodge the blast and was promptly elbowed in the face by Goten.

As his opponent skidded and bounced on the floor, Goten fired a barrage of ki blasts, attempting to end the fight then and there. When only dust and smoke could be seen, Goten dropped his guard, thinking he'd won. Suddenly, the paralyzing force he felt on his ship earlier bounded him once more. Goten tried to resist his bindings but it was to no avail. As he stood with his legs spread and slightly crouched, his hands balled into fists, Goten heard laughing from the smoke. Moving his eyes, the saiyan saw Turban Head, his clothes torn and ruffled, burn marks on his skin, and his arms outstretched in front of him. Small, thin beams of lights were faintly shooting from his hands towards Goten while the blue man had a smirk on his face.

"Weren't expecting this, were you boy?' he taunted, angering Goten. Goten tried to once again get himself loose but failed once more. "It's useless to resist. You won't be able to move for a long time and I intend on making that permanent."

Goten closed his eyes and tried to calm himself. Okay, he knew that he wouldn't be able to shake off his invisible restraints covering his body. Well, if he couldn't fight with his whole body, maybe if he focused on just moving one of his body parts he could find a way to break free.

Attempting that new approach, Goten completely focused on moving just his right hand, trying to unball his fist. As Goten concentrated, the blue man watched him curiously. He had no idea what the little saiyan was planning but it wasn't going to work. Once he had ensnared someone in his telekinetic ropes, his victim was powerless to fight it.

Slowly, Goten could feel his hand loosening, opening his fist up till it looked more like he was holding a ball in his hand. Goten smirked. It was time to finish this fight.

Focusing his ki, a ball of energy appeared in his semi-opened hand and fired the blast at his captor. Turban Head's eyes widen as he saw the blast flying towards him. Releasing his control, he dodged the blast by jumping over it. Suddenly, Goten appeared in front of him and rammed his fist through his opponent's body; his fist sticking out of Turban Head's back. The blue man's face was twisted into a mask of pain and…more pain. With his last breath, he coughed up blood and fell into unconsciousness, his life plunging into the depths of death.

Dropping the lifeless body, Goten looked at it with a blank face. He didn't know whether to pay his respect to his fallen foe or to feel glad he had wiped that annoying smile from his face. Deciding on neither, Goten left the room. As he entered the hallway, he felt Gohan's ki level was higher than it should be. Suddenly that level split into two different ones, one feeling like Gohan and the other…Piccolo?

Running towards the two power levels, Goten had to find out what was going on. Piccolo shouldn't be on the ship. He died back on Vegeta; but then why was it here? Goten had to find out the answer to this as he turned a corner and rushed on.

* * *

'Damn, damn, damn,' was the only thought running through Gohan's head as he hurried down the corridors of the ship. He had felt Trunks blowing someone into oblivion and then Goten got himself into a fight. Things were not going too well and knowing his luck, Gohan was just about to run into his own fight.

Running into a room, the brightness of it made Gohan stop his running, closing his eyes so he could stop them from stinging. Opening them up slowly, his eyes adjusting to the light, Gohan observed his surroundings.

White tile covered almost every single square inch of the room, accounting for the sudden brightness. Two separate staircases facing each other stood on one side of the room, leading to a second story that seemed to go further back then what Gohan could see of it. Also, that second story wrapped around the portion of the room he was it. There were large counters that circled around the room, stopping at where the staircases began. On the counters, lush green plants grew, giving the room a sort of greenhouse quality. The room must be were they replenished their oxygen stores.

Gohan started walking towards the center of the room when a ki blast came rushing at him. Diving out of the way, Gohan dropped into a defensive stance, looking in the direction the errant ki blast came from. Positioned on the second story and above the entrance Gohan used, the blue woman he had seen earlier stood, her hand still pointing at him. Instead of the red robe she had worn previously, she stood in white pants with a purple sash tied around her waist, a white vest on top a blue sleeveless undershirt, and black arm covers that went from her wrists to her upper arms.

For the next few minutes, the pair stared each other down, neither making a move to attack or speak for that matter. That was when a voice spoke out from the doorway behind the blue woman. "I know Zangya's a sight to see kid, but that doesn't mean you should just gawk at her."

Zangya dropped her arm but continued to stare at Gohan as the speaker came out of the dark doorway. A very large, bulky blue man came into sight, a blue trench coat and white pants adorn him with gold chains around his neck. A black bandana covered his long, shaggy orange hair; along with two scars, one on his face and the other on his chest. An arrogant smirk was fixed firmly on his face.

Gohan decided to speak up for the first time since coming into the room. "I take it you're the leader on this ship."

The smirk remained on the leader's face. "That I am. I'm known as the space pirate Bojack. You might've heard about me from somewhere."

Gohan smirked back at him. "Sorry, never heard of you. First time in space and all."

Bojack's smirk dropped a little but still held firmly. "Rotten first time if you ask me. Just your luck to run into the most infamous pirate in all of space."

"Oh? Then you must have some decent fighting skills. Care to show me?"

"Gladly."

As Gohan prepared for the first assault, Piccolo surfaced in the saiyan's mind. _(Kid! Behind you!)_

Gohan reacted immediately, narrowly blocking Zangya's kick. An outbreak of punches, kicks, and blocks erupted between the two. It was while Gohan had his attention on the girl that Bojack launched his first attack, his large fist slamming into the side Gohan's head. Gohan flew head first into a wall, cracking the solid structure, and falling onto the ground. Rubbing his face, Gohan stood back up. At least he knew who jumped him in the corridor after his previous fight with that blue guy.

Charging at the duo, Gohan fazed out of sight and reappeared behind Zangya, nailing her in the back of the head with his elbow. Immediately, he threw a kick at Bojack in midair, Bojack blocking it in turn. That was when Gohan threw an uppercut at the blue guy, who dodged it. However, Gohan knew he didn't throw that punch. Because of that little detail, it threw Gohan's stability off, leaving him open for Zangya's feet to imbed themselves in Gohan's stomach. Flying across the room, Gohan flipped in midair, landing on his feet. That was when Bojack attacked with a barrage of punches. Once again, Gohan felt his body move without his telling it to, blocking the punches but throwing off his stability again. This time, however, Gohan ki blasted Bojack in the stomach, knocking him away, and the saiyan leapt away from any on coming attack.

Keeping his eyes on Bojack and Zangya, Gohan started a conversation with his resident Namekian. (Piccolo! Quit backseat fighting!)

_(Well, I wouldn't have to fight if you knew how to do it yourself!)_

(Well, if you want to fight so bad, then find a way to do it!)

_(Gladly)_

Suddenly, instructions on a new technique filled Gohan's mind. It looked interesting and it could produce some interesting results, so what did the saiyan have to lose?

Focusing his ki, Gohan gathered an enormous amount and then separated the energy within his body. As Gohan's energy split, his body started to expand and slowly began to split. Then a huge power surge hit Gohan as his body divided into two separate forms. Both Gohans looked at each other, one with a blank stare and the other with a bewildered one.

Immediately, Gohan felt the different ki signal within his twin. "Piccolo? What just happened?"

The second Gohan smirked. "This kid is the split form technique," a gruff voice said, coming from the twin.

"So right now, you're in your own body or at least in charge of one of me."

"You got it Kid."

"Well if this isn't magical. You done talking to yourself or do you want to actually fight?" Bojack shouted.

Both Gohan and Piccolo dropped into stances, staring down their blue foes. With a silent signal, both fighters raced towards their opponents, the thrill of battle rushing through their veins.

Piccolo first attacked Zangya, throwing a right hook which she promptly blocked and counterattacked. Piccolo though, flipped over Zangya's strike, clasping his hands together and jackhammering the girl in the back of the head, sending her flying. Landing on his feet, Piccolo charged after Zangya, lashing out a multitude of strikes, most of which landed while a few were narrowly blocked.

Gohan, on the other hand, wasn't as successful. Taking an aerial approach, Gohan jumped into the air and threw his own punch at Bojack, which was easily blocked. Not letting that hinder him, Gohan threw a barrage of punches which were all blocked; but this time Bojack counterattacked, punching Gohan in the face and upper cutting him in the stomach before slamming the palm of his hand into Gohan's cheek, knocking him away.

"You seemed to have gotten weaker boy. Not much fun to be honest." Bojack said tauntingly.

Gohan, who was getting onto his hands and knees, turned his head to Bojack and fired twin eyebeams at him, piercing the pirate's left shoulder. Bojack jerked back, grasping his injured shoulder. Growling, he fired a ki blast at the saiyan, who dashed away to avoid it.

Meanwhile, Zangya had taken the upper hand on Piccolo. She had managed to start blocking some of Piccolo's earlier strikes and soon took over the match, attacking back and driving the Gohan twin back.

Leaping away, Piccolo crossed his hands together and shouted "Masenko Ha!" firing the blast at the blue girl. Zangya simply dodged the blast, dancing almost. Infuriated Piccolo launched another Masenko, which Zangya appeared to dance away from again. In actuality, she was dancing, as if Piccolo couldn't harm her at all. Letting out a war cry, Piccolo shot up to the ceiling of the room, turning in midair to land feet first on the tile roof and pushed off it, flying quickly at his target. Crossing his arms in front of him, Piccolo torpedoed to the careless looking blue girl.

At the last second, Zangya danced out of the way of Piccolo's flying charge, kicking him in the head with a well placed roundhouse kick. Managing to recover in midair, Piccolo landed on his feet, skidding a couple of feet. Soon, Gohan landed next to Piccolo facing a different direction.

"Not going too well for ya?" Gohan greeted, panting a little.

"Kinda. Same with you?" Piccolo replied, staring down the blue girl.

"Yeah. Got any ideas?"

"Sorry kid. A little short on ideas at the moment."

The two warriors caught their breath slowly as their opponents began to approach them. Gohan watched Bojack before taking a side glance at Zangya.

"I think I might have a plan. But I need you to join with me…and no backseat fighting this time," Gohan said as calmly as possible.

Piccolo grinned. "Fine kid; have it your way. But the moment you go down, I'm taking over. Got it?"

Gohan grinned. "Sure. Just sit back and watch for now."

Piccolo then glowed a bright white, only the outlines of his body showing before he merged with Gohan. As soon as the merger was complete, Gohan shifted his focus on to Zangya as she charged at him. Catching the kick she was aiming at him, Gohan swung the girl around, using her like a baseball bat and slammed her into a charging Bojack, knocking the two away.

As the two blue warriors flew backwards, Bojack grabbed Zangya and threw her off him and into the wall, effectively knocking her out as she hit it head first. "Is that all you got kid?" Bojack shouted out.

"Well, you did knock out your own teammate so I wouldn't be taunting anyone if I were you," Gohan responded.

A confused look settled on Bojack's face before he turned to look at the unconscious Zangya. Scowling, he looked back only to see a fist nailing him in the face. Stepping backwards to regain his balance, he shook off his daze the punch had given him. Looking back to see where Gohan was, he found him in the same spot, his arm raised and hand balled into a fist. How had that boy punched him when he hadn't moved an inch?

Gohan then threw his other fist at Bojack, still in the same spot. Suddenly the fist extended and rushed into Bojack's unguarded stomach, causing the pirate to bend over from the sudden attack. Gohan then stretched his other arm again, punching Bojack in the face again. Then the saiyan fired his eyebeams, completely missing the bulky pirate.

Recovering from Gohan's surprise attacks, Bojack smirked at the saiyan. "Looks like your aim's off boy. Too bad for you."

Gohan smirked. "Who ever said I missed?"

Curiously, Bojack turned to look behind him. All he saw were two small holes in the wall. What was the big deal about a couple holes?

A faint sucking sound started to be heard the longer Bojack waited. Walking over carefully, the sound got louder and louder until Bojack felt a pull. Looking through the holes, Bojack saw that the beams had pierced through all of the ship's walls, going all the way through the ship's hull. Wait a minute, the ship's hull!

Turning around to shout at the saiyan, Bojack saw a large ki blast heading right for him. Diving out of the way, the blast tore through the wall and continued on until it busted through the ships hull. The ship's alarm went off as soon as the hull's breach was detected. Looking up at the saiyan, Bojack saw Gohan just exiting the room, just as the emergency doors sealed the room, trapping the pirate and Zangya inside to await being sucked out of the ship and into the depth of space. Letting out a scream of fury, Bojack rushed towards the door, willing to break it and every door behind it down in order to kill the boy that played him for a fool.

* * *

Gohan raced down the hallways as fast as he could. Although the hole in the ship's hull wasn't very big, it would become a very big problem soon enough and a space ship tearing itself apart was the last thing Gohan wanted to deal with.

Suddenly, Gohan felt the kis of Goten and Trunks spike. Apparently, the two of them had run into each other on their way to find and help in Gohan's battle and figure out the subsequent mystery of Piccolo's ki. Good thing was that they were close by so the battle worn saiyan wouldn't have to run very far.

Turning a few corners, Gohan found himself in a large ship hanger with all kinds of space ships positioned all around the room, standing on their landing gears. Apparently, Goten and Trunks had found the hanger while they searched for Gohan, not that Gohan was complaining. Better that they found this place than helped in the fight.

"Gohan! Over here!" Goten yelled out, standing by the door of a ship. Dashing over to ship, the two saiyans boarded it, the ship's door closing behind them. Running into the ship's control room, Gohan saw Trunks completing the task of activating and launching the shuttle. With the lights of the ship turning on and the sudden feeling of hovering, Trunks maneuvered the ship until it faced the shut doors of the hanger.

"Gohan, you know how to open the doors?" Trunks called out over the hum of the engines.

"Does this ship have weapons?" Gohan yelled back.

"Yeah."

"Then blast the doors open!"

Following orders, Trunks fired the ship's weapons, blowing the doors open and creating a powerful suction that sucked everything out of the ship. Tumbling through the void of space, Trunks quickly got control of the ship and then took off in the direction the spacecraft said Earth was.

Relaxing into his seat, Gohan closed his eyes.

_(You know we're in big trouble kid)_

(Yeah. We can't fight like we did back there again)

_(Are you willing to correct that?)_

(If we're gonna survive on Earth, we have to)

_(Then leave everything to me kid. We should be in better tune with each other by the time we get to Earth)_

(That sounds good. I'll let you start on that)

* * *

To chris: Thanks for the review. To be honest, I just wanted to have Videl find a reason to go to Earth; even if the reason isn't totally the real one. But the figuring out part is dead on. And as for the androids, be ready for some big ass battles, the climax will hard and powerful. And now I've become political...wow...never thought I'd hear myself say that before. 

To dbzfan952 for ch. 3: Well this is new. Looks like I've got a lot of reply reviews to write you so I better get started. It's alright if you haven't been on in awhile, alot more things more important than this little fic. And still, thanks for the site.

To dbzfan952 for ch. 5: lol, that cliffy was just to great. Would've been better if I drug it out more, but oh well.

To dbzfan952 for ch. 13: Thank ya very much. I do have some good ideas once in awhile. Can't believe no one tried that fusion out already. They fused everyone and their grandma but not this pair. Weird.

To dbzfan952 for ch. 14: And now that I have your official interest, more shall come. What awaits our heros? Beats the crap out of me. Must brainstorm for an ungodly amount of time...four days. And thanks for all your reviews.


	16. Pressure

The sun stood proudly in the middle of the blue sky

The sun stood proudly in the middle of the blue sky. There was barely a cloud floating overhead and the soft breeze of the sea had just started blowing by. It was days like these that made Earth seem more special then it actually was.

The tide washed up the sandy beach and collided with the green boots on Jericho Sedici. It wasn't often that he came to a beach and there was only one beach in the world he ever went to only because it was the home of his financial supporter. At the moment, this beach surrounded the small island that Jericho stood on. In the middle of the island, a small pink house with the words "Kame House" painted in big red letters on one side stood. Surrounding the house was a moat of green grass with a beach chair and a couple palm trees sitting in it.

Jericho took in a deep breath of the salty air before walking towards the house and knocking on the front door. It was awhile before a frail old man wearing a hula shirt and shorts, red rimmed sunglasses reflecting the sun's rays along with his bald head. The only evidence of hair on the man's body was his white mustache and beard. "Oh, Jericho. It's you."

"Yes, it is I," the monotone man replied, a small smile on his lips.

"It's been awhile since your last visit. Everything going okay?" the hermit said as he stepped through the doorway, closing the door behind him.

"Everything is going well. I have laid down the proposal you and I talked about."

"Is that so?" the hermit said as he walked onto the beach. "I hope you know what you're doing. This is a dangerous game we're playing and one wrong move will be the end of it."

"I am aware of the risk Master Roshi," Jericho said, walking onto the beach and standing next to the hermit, both of them looking out to the horizon. "What of the rumors of the recent saiyan rebellions?" he questioned.

Roshi shook his head. "I don't really understand it myself. It seems they've dropped that honor code of theirs. Civilians have been attacked recently."

Jericho jerked his head to look at the shorter man. "Are you sure? They've never attacked civilians before."

Roshi just stared out into the sea. "Personally, I think something's afoot. Why would they just now start attacking noncombatants? Unless they have something else up their sleeve; I just have no idea what this situation is going to bring."

Looking back to the sea, Jericho asked "Is there some kind of pattern occurring?"

"Seems they attack a military compound after the attack on the settlement. But what's strange about it is that they don't charge into town. They use a more artillery approach."

"Could it be that artillery of theirs is just a cover for something else?"

Roshi's head shot up. "Of course! That's why the documents had gone missing!"

Jericho cocked his head. "Documents?"

Calming down somewhat, Roshi answered. "Every time there was a saiyan attack, documents had gone missing. Interesting enough, those missing documents just happened to be about the military compounds they would attack later."

A soft breeze blew by. "Did they just annihilate the base or was there something else they did?"

"Odd you should ask that. One base they attacked was one the soldiers call 'Satellite Hub.' It seemed they went in and destroyed a bunch of it and retreated without finishing the job. Also a space shuttle the military was planning on launching went missing during the fighting."

Jericho frowned as he went over this latest information. That was when he felt an evil presence nearby. Reacting immediately, Jericho swung his body around and fired a ki blast; the blast tearing through a corner of the pink house and flew out to sea, exploding over water.

"Come out spy," Jericho ordered, hand still raised in order to fire another blast.

The last thing on earth he expected to show its face appeared. A large, lanky brown and green _thing_ walked around the corner, black spots littering his green skin along with two insect like wing covers; a reptilian face glowering at him and a long green tail with a needle point waving behind him.

"Very perceptive Sixteenth chair. I didn't think you would sense me," the reptilian voice said, the slits that were its eyes observing him.

"What are you?" Jericho said disgust evident in this voice. Roshi just looked on, his sunglasses hiding what ever emotions his eyes showed.

"I'm not too surprised that you don't know me Sixteenth chair. I am known as Android Twenty One but that code name is very bland if you ask me." Something that looked like a smile etched itself onto Twenty-one's face. "I much prefer another name that I made myself. You can call me Cell."

"Hmmm, I know about you. You're that assassin in the shadows I've heard about," Roshi said, catching Jericho off guard. As the taller man looked at Roshi with a surprised look, he started to surmise that the whole revelation shouldn't have been that surprising. With certain opponents of Gero's disappearing at key moments, it stood to reason that something suspicious was occurring. Turning his attention back to the thing called Cell; the red headed man asked "So what is it you want with us?"

"It's very simple my tall friend. I've been sent to kill you and I'm going to do just that."

"The only person that is going to die today will be you Cell," Jericho responded.

That strange smile appeared once more as Cell replied "We'll see about that." Lunging, Cell flew towards Jericho, throwing a right hook.

Jericho easily caught the punch, landing his own as he punched Cell in the head, sending the reptile flying into the air. Roshi took cover by the palm trees, studying the quick exchange. Apparently, his Mohawk friend had taken up Gero's offer of becoming a cyborg in order to get that strength.

Cell managed to straighten himself out as he tumbled through the air. Landing on the ground, the reptile charged again, throwing a series of punches and kicks that Jericho easily blocked. Jumping several feet away, Jericho aimed his arm at Cell, his hand balled into a fist.

"Rocket punch!" he yelled out as his hand and forearm separated from his arm and flew into the surprised Cell's face. As Cell jerked back from the impact, the arm ricocheted into the air, flipping end over end back to Jericho, who caught the appendage, reattached it, and then charged the reptile, attacking with a roundhouse kick.

Jericho was surprised when Cell blocked the attack. Using his opponent's surprise, Cell swung his tail, nailing the sixteenth chair in the head. Raising both arms, Cell fired multiple ki blasts, blowing the taller man into the sea.

"That's one down, one old man to go," Cell said grinning. Turning his attention to Roshi, he never saw the punch that nailed him in the head, knocking him to the ground. As Cell regained his senses, two large hands gripped his tail and started to swing him around.

Releasing the fifth appendage, Cell flew into the air, spinning. Jericho, still dripping with salt water, raised one of his arms and fired a large ki blast; Cell vanishing into the blast screaming. Jericho dropped his arm, still staring at the smoke that was dissipating. He smiled. So much for that assassin.

"Jericho, behind you!" Roshi cried out. Turning around, Jericho soon saw a fist imbed itself in his face, stunning him. As he was stunned, a hand jabbed itself at the red head, piercing the man's armor and into his body. Jericho's eyes grew wide as he coughed up blood. How could he have been this careless?

A tail then wrapped around his neck, slowly crushing his windpipe. Jericho's hands clamped down on the appendage, trying to remove it. After no success on that attempt, Jericho lifted his hand to fire another Rocket Punch but the arm was knocked aside before it fired, the tail tightening even more. Jericho could feel his air deprived lungs screaming for fresh air.

Through this excruciating ordeal, Jericho slowly fell into unconsciousness and death soon after; his other arm falling to his side as he hung limply by the tail. Loosening his grip, the dead man's body fell to the ground, never to move again. Cell stood over it haughtily. Now it was time to finish the job.

Just as Cell turned once more to look at Roshi, a foot nailed the reptile in the face, sending the proud reptilian into the sea, his splash sending water high into the air. As Cell, rose out of the water, the liquid dripping from him as he hovered; he saw old man Roshi standing in a martial arts stance, ready to fight.

"So old man, you think you can take me on?" Cell mocked. Roshi never replied, still in his stance. "Fine then, let's see how you do against this!" the reptilian yelled as he dashed towards the hermit.

Dodging the first punch, Roshi clothesline Cell, leaving him hanging in midair upside down as he sent an array of kicks into his midsection. With the surprised maneuver catching him off guard, the kicks did much damage to Cell's stomach and ego. With one final kick, Roshi sent the reptile flying across the island. Recovering, Cell pushed his hands against the ground, flipping himself onto his feet, his tail lashing out behind him to protect his blind spot from the hermit.

Turning around, Cell said "You're a lot better than I thought old man."

Roshi answered this time. "If you were any kind of martial artist, you would've been able to prevent that humiliation. As much as you like to brag about your strength, you never stood a chance of hitting me the moment you charged. You're not as strong as you think you are."

Cell smirked. "Well, I was stronger than your friend over there."

Not even turning his head to look at his fallen companion, Roshi continued his dissection. "While you did take advantage of my friend dropping his guard, you had to use a sneak tactic to accomplish that. If Jericho had any martial arts training, that would've never happened. But since it did, you have to fight me now; and I won't go down as easily as you think I will."

Cell's smirk became a frown. "Big words from a small man," he said before launching himself into another attack. As he neared the seasoned warrior, Cell threw his fist at him, only for it to go through Roshi. Totally surprised, he saw Roshi slowly vanished. Looking around, he saw the veteran standing behind him, still in a fighter's stance. Before Cell tried another attack, he spied out of the corner of his eye another Roshi in the same stance. Before he knew it, a whole circle of Roshis surrounded the reptile, each in the same stance.

Growling, Cell flung his tail around him and swept it through all of the Roshi images, each one vanishing as his tail went through it. When all the images disappeared, Cell yelled out "You expect me to fall for the same trick twice?"

Suddenly, the sand at Cell's feet collapsed into a hole, throwing off the reptilian's footing. Roshi then burst out of the sand in front of Cell, upper cutting him as he flew up. When the hermit's feet touched the ground again, he dashed forward, his elbow digging into Cell's midsection. Then Roshi slammed his palm up into Cell's chin before using the same palm to slam into the reptile's chest, sending him flying.

Once the combo was finished, Roshi said "Yes, I did expect you to fall for the same trick."

However, Cell recovered much more quickly then the hermit expected, firing several ki blasts. The barrage caught the old man off guard, sending him across the island, burning wounds as evidence of the attack.

"What did you think about that old man?" Cell taunted.

Moving his arms and legs around, Roshi inspected the damage, concluding that he'd still be able to fight. Turning his attention to Cell's taunt, the veteran replied "I guess I'll have to use my full power to beat you."

"Oh? You've been holding back on me? Well, let's see that full power of yours," Cell said, licking his lips with his lizard tongue.

Roshi just stood in front of Cell, his sunglasses hiding his stare of concentration. As Cell watched, he slowly felt the old man's power level steadily rise until it suddenly jumped. Within a moment, Roshi's whole body expanded, his muscles bulking up to impossible levels for an old man. His hula shirt was completely shredded, leaving only his shorts and sandals intact. What was only a frail old man's body was replaced with one of a body builder; giant muscles expanding and contracting with the hermit's breathing, giant veins popping out on top of his bald head.

The whole transformation caught Cell by surprise. Although his face didn't show much emotion, his eyes widening was all the proof needed to show his shock.

As Roshi steadied his breathing, he started walking straight at Cell, who in turn dropped into a defensive stance. It was like that for what seemed like hours as Roshi covered the space separating the two fighters. When Roshi came within spitting distance of the reptilian, he stopped, looking up to the taller warrior. Cell continued with his stance, watching for any sudden movements.

Finally, Roshi made the first move, throwing a punch at Cell's face. Cell promptly caught the fist but underestimated the power behind the punch as the back of his hand was pushed into his face, the full brunt of the punch making itself known on the reptile's face. As Roshi threw a follow up punch, Cell jumped away, putting space between the two fighters. No wonder the old man just walked up to him. Although the punch was powerful, he didn't have enough speed to hit him due to his increased body mass. But Cell knew he couldn't just dodge the attacks forever. With the terrain of sand, he could easily slip and it would all be over momentarily. He had been lucky enough to slow that first punch when he tried to catch it, knocking off some of the brutal power.

Roshi lunged at Cell, fist ready for another attack. Cell waited patiently until Roshi threw his first punch, dodging it, and then counterattacking. However, Cell's punch never landed as Roshi caught it and then grabbed a hold of the reptile's arm.

Lifting Cell off the ground by his arm, Roshi swung the reptile over his head and slammed him into the ground. A following kick sent Cell flying off the island, skimming on the water like a rock skipping on water. After the fifth skip, Cell regained control; stopping his momentum, his insect like wings flinging themselves open.

Looking at Roshi, a look of hatred on his bruised face, he saw the old man cup his hands in front of him and then brought them to his right side. Cell could faintly hear words being spoken but he wasn't able to make them out. He was able to make out the glowing blue ball of energy that appeared in the hermit's hands. Suddenly, Roshi thrust his cupped hands in front of him, launching a large blue beam.

Without hesitating, Cell flew high into the air, dodging the blast. Looking behind him, he saw the blast blaze towards an island, obliterating it in a massive explosion. Cell got a shocked expression on his face. How in the world could an old man have that much power without the modifications that Gero had created? It didn't matter though. Cell had new plans for this hermit. Slowly hovering back to the island, a reptilian smirk crossed Cell's face.

Landing on the island, a smirk on his face, Cell said "That's some power you have there old man."

Roshi didn't respond.

"Not much of a talker, are you? But that's okay. You don't have to be with what I've got planned for you."

Once again, Roshi didn't respond.

Cell continued to smirk until he gave out a war cry, firing a ki blast that explode at Roshi's feet; scattering sand into the air. When the sand settled, Roshi couldn't see hide nor hair of the reptilian. Even trying to sense his power level gave no results. Looking around, Roshi managed to spot a weird looking shadow in front of him. It was thin and long, towering over the hermit with an odd bowl looking thing on the end. Turning around, the hermit saw Cell, his tail sticking high about his head, the needle point transformed into a bowl like shape.

Suddenly, the bowl slammed down over Roshi's head, encompassing the top third of the hermit's body, pinning his arms to his sides. Even as he struggled, his grunts and screams muffled by the inside of the bowl; the tail muscles began contracting and expanding, pulling the hermit deeper and deeper in to the tail. Hours seemed to pass by as Roshi was carried along the inside of the tail until he entered Cell's body, the bulge of Roshi's being disappearing into Cell's torso.

Cell closed his eyes and waited. Suddenly, a massive power surge filled his body. His muscles expanded to unsightly proportion, veins popping out of his arms and legs. Cell gave out a scream of pain as his body continued to expand until it seemed his body reached its maximum size and then contracted; returning back to its original size.

Cell breathed out raggedly. It had been awhile since he absorbed anyone of decent power. It was amazing how much power the old geezer had in him.

Very invigorating.

* * *

"Un-be-liev-able," was all Gohan could say. Staring at the wreckage of their second ship, it was pretty understandable. It had barely been two days since they had escaped the space pirate Bojack and they already ran into more trouble. An Earth battle cruiser had spotted them and thought it would go in for an easy kill. Fortunately, the saiyan trio repealed their attack.

Unfortunately, they crashed on a planet in the process.

Sparks shot out of the ruined vessel, as flames burned different portions of the ship. Smoke was rising lightly due to the fact that there wasn't much of anything left to burn or that could be burned.

"AHA!" Trunks shouted out from inside the wreckage. Walking out of the crashed ship, Trunks carried a huge smile on his face. "I figured out what planet we're on guys!"

"And?" Gohan asked.

"And what?" Trunks responded perplexed.

"And what planet are we on?" Gohan said as patiently as possible.

"Oh! Why didn't you say so?" Trunks said, nearly making the older saiyan give in to the urge of knocking him upside the head.

"Just tell me what planet we're on Trunks," Gohan said exasperated.

"Apparently we're on the planet Majiventa. Does that sound familiar to you?"

Taking over Gohan's vocals, Piccolo answered that. "I believe that the Earthlings are in a military campaign here but they've had some problems with the planet's guardian."

Trunks stared at Gohan/Piccolo oddly. "I don't think I'll ever going to get use to that," Trunks muttered. Shortly after escaping Bojack, Gohan had explained to Goten and Trunks the unique position he was in due to the fusion with Piccolo. While it relieved the younger saiyans that Piccolo wasn't actually dead, it kind of freaked them out when Piccolo decided to speak using Gohan's mouth, his own gruff voice replacing Gohan's normal voice. While Piccolo didn't do it much, it was an odd moment or two before the younger boys could speak again.

"And how would you know that?" Trunks questioned.

"Before I came to Vegeta, I heard rumors of a stalled human campaign that was very reminiscent of the Saiyo-Earthling War. The humans haven't been able to get a foothold on the planet so there wasn't much need for me to come here when my services could've been used elsewhere," Piccolo answered.

Taking a look around the place, Trunks said "Well, these humans must be pretty dumb to think they'll be getting one soon. Why'd they want a place like this anyways?"

Looking around as well, Gohan had to admit Trunks had a point. Surrounding the crash site was what looked like miles and miles of desert. There were a few patches of grass here and there but otherwise the planet didn't look too appealing.

"There's probably some kind of useable resource that the humans covet back on their home planet. Not to mention that they could station a base here for easier troop transfers, supply lines, and it would be a lot easier to have a command center closer to the battle field on another planet," Goten said, speaking up for the first time since the crash.

Trunks and Gohan stared at the saiyan. Goten actually had a good point there.

_(Sometimes that kid amazes me)_ Piccolo said mentally.

(Well of course he would. I taught him ya know) Gohan responded proudly.

_(That's not saying much Kid)_

(Piccolo. Shut up)

A dry chuckle was all Gohan got in response. Ignoring the Namek, Gohan said to the other two "If the humans don't have much of a foothold on this planet, then it would be okay to fly for help. Maybe get another ship."

Goten and Trunks nodded their heads. The three saiyans then lifted after ground and flew towards the east. The expanse of desert seemed to cover everything as they flew above it. It seemed to take hours for them to reach a landscape of a more habitable environment. What was once desert, was now a sea of grass, a few trees sparsely populating the area. A small creek ran through the grassland, opening into a small pond that the three saiyans took a much needed break at. Never had water tasted so good.

After their pit stop, the trio continued flying until the landscape changed again, becoming more rugged and hilly. It wasn't long after entering this environment that Goten spotted something ahead of them. "Guys! Do you see that?"

Searching in front of him, Gohan saw the thing Goten was talking about. Standing on a small cliff, a pink blob was standing, looking out over the horizon.

The pink creature was very fat, no question about it. It wore white pants with a stylized M on its belt. It's black vest didn't hide any of the creature's protruding belly as it hung over the creatures belt. Odd looking yellow gloves were on its hands, completing the ensemble. Looking at its face, its chubby face and squinted eyes gave it the look of an innocent child. A short antenna on its head stuck out to Gohan but if looked in the right light, it seemed to fit the picture too.

Drifting to the ground, the saiyan trio hid behind some decent sized boulders, lying on their stomachs as they studied the pink creature.

"What is that?" Trunks asked, completely enveloped by the creature's appearance.

"Beats me," was Goten's response.

The three continued to observe the pink creature when the sound of several engines became audible. Turning to look in the direction the pink blob was looking; Gohan saw many human assault vehicles heading straight for the pink thing.

Looking back at the creature, Gohan could tell that it was unperturbed by the oncoming military force. About fifty yards away, the military forced stopped. One of the humans stepped out of his vehicle, a megaphone in hand. Walking a small distance away from his convey, he put the megaphone to his lips and addressed the pink creature. "Okay Majin. I'm going to make this very simple for you. You are to surrender the planet to Earth's military force or we'll destroy your whole civilization. Do you understand?"

The pink blob just stared at him, a carefree smile on its face. Then it started to talk in a very high pitched voice. "Hahaha, Buu not surrender for bad men. Buu having too much fun. Buu want to have more. Will you play with Buu?"

The human with the megaphone started to sweat nervously. "No, I'd appreciate it very much if you just surrendered the planet."

The carefree smile dropped from the Majin's face. "You no play with Buu. Why that?"

"Because the Earth's military can't play with monsters like you."

A very pissed off look crossed the pink creature's face. "You don't play with Buu. You make Buu mad. Buu don't like people who don't play with Buu. Buu make you dead." With each word making the Majin's voice deeper, the last few words sending shivers down the spying saiyans' spines.

The pink creature started to suck in air, it's belly expanding as air filled it. The humans down below were scrambling to get their vehicles moving, trying to escape the mad Majin's temper. Gohan watched in curiosity as the creature just sucked in air. What kind of attack was it planning?

Suddenly, the creature unleashed the air it had gathered, a giant stream of air destroying everything it encountered, the humans disappearing within the dirt and dust that was kicked up from the attack. When the dirt cloud disappeared, only scraps of metal could be found on the small plain.

"What an attack!" Goten exclaimed once he saw the damage.

The other two saiyans could only nod their head in agreement. If either one of them or another saiyan had an attack like that, then they wouldn't have to worry about the human menace on their planet.

"Right you are," a feeble voice said from behind them. All three on them jumped into fighting stances, turning to face the person who snuck up on them. All they found was a small, green man, blue and orange robes piled up on his body, long whiskers hanging from his small snout. A weird looking M was carved into his black forehead, which stuck out from the rest of his green form.

"Who are you," Gohan barked out. Although the small man had a very weak power level, the saiyan still didn't like the fact that someone could just sneak up on him.

A small smile graced the snout of the man. "I am known as the wizard Bibidi. You four must be new to this planet since you don't seem to be from around here."

Piccolo made his presence known inside Gohan's head. _(He knows about me Kid)_

The man called Bibidi continued on talking when the three didn't respond. "I don't mean you any harm but I would like to know about the people spying on my creation."

Trunks jerked his head to look at the childish pink blob before turning back to ask "You made that thing?"

"Yes I did," the wizard responded. "I made him to protect this planet I call home. So if you don't want me to sic him on you, you'd do best to tell me who you are."

Dropping from his stance, Trunks and Goten following suit, Gohan said "We're saiyans from the planet Vegeta. We crashed on your planet and ran into your friend over there. He's pretty strong if he can take out a whole human military unit with one attack."

"Oh, so you're saiyans. Haven't seen your kind around since the Earthlings left Earth. Makes me curious to know what you would be doing here rather than fighting the Earthlings on your home planet."

"We're on a mission for our planet which involved going into space. Haven't had much luck since we left home."

"So you can make a strike on Earth I take it?" the wizard said shocking the three saiyans.

"How would you know that?" Goten asked, surprised.

"I may not look strong but I do have some mind reading abilities," Bibidi answered, smiling. "It seems we're allies in this conflict with the Earthlings. Why don't you come to my home so you can rest and get some food into you?"

Rising from the ground, the wizard started to fly away, leaving the trio staring after him.

"I think we should follow him," Trunks said after awhile. "He doesn't seem to be that bad of a guy."

"I agree," Goten concurred. "I'm getting hungry too."

"It'd probably be best if we did. We could possibly get another ship," Gohan agreed.

The three saiyans took off after the flying wizard, catching up to him quickly. Gohan adjusted his speed to match with Bibidi's as he began to question to short man. "So what's your creation's name?"

The smaller man smiled. "I, and the rest of the planet, call him Majin Buu. He was made for the sole purpose of being this planet's guardian, protecting its people from harm."

Gohan looked at Bibidi befuddled. "Uh, I didn't ask why you made him."

Bibidi turned his head to look at Gohan. "No you didn't, but you were going to ask that soon enough. I just beat you to it."

Gohan gave a small grin. "So what's the situation here?"

The smile that was on Bibidi's face disappeared. "The Earthlings are very persistent though they can't establish themselves on the planet. Buu makes sure they don't. However, the people of this planet are becoming restless with this human menace. They keep putting more pressure on Buu to get rid of them when it's not that simple."

Gohan nodded. "So what's making it difficult?"

"The Earthlings found an abandon asteroid where they could build a base. They just keep stockpiling their men, supplies, and weapons there so it'll take awhile before the Earthlings give up on the planet," Bibidi replied. "But none of the people here accept it. It was as if they believed that a couple of victories would drive the enemy away. With the constant demand to get rid of the Earthlings, Buu is starting to get irritable. Despite his childish antics, the criticism is going to get to him sooner or later and I honestly don't know what would happen if that were to occur."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Trunks asked, flying on the other side of Bibidi.

Bibidi sighed. "Buu is made out of a unique magic that is very unpredictable at times. If kept happy, nothing will disturb it. However, if irritated, the results could be catastrophic."

Gohan just looked ahead. The saiyan trio was gonna have to leave this planet before anything bad happened. Hopefully that catastrophic event wouldn't occur while they were here.

Hopefully.

* * *

To dbzfan952: Thanks. Trying to do new things is a bit hard but usually worth it, especially when you can keep your readers guessing on what will happen nexts. So far I've been successful in that department. And thanks for the updated website. I'll be sure to fix that.

Hmmm, you sure about that change of address dbzfan? I've tried the link but I've had no success with it. Just wanted to make sure I could get to it before I told everyone else.


	17. Please

Hey everyone, it's that time of year that kids love and adults cry over. This is my christmas present to ya'll so I hope you enjoy it. Merry Christmas.

* * *

With a war cry, Videl swung her leg high, nailing her opponent in the head. As the man stumbled backwards, Videl ran at the slightly taller green man, jumping into the air and landed with her legs on her opponent's shoulders. Leaning backwards, Videl planted her arms on the ground and used her momentum to flip her opponent through the air and into a wall, knocking him out. Perfect. When the little guy woke up, he could tell her everything she wanted to know.

Suddenly, a cry of "Dodon Ray" rang out and the subsequent beam flew out of nowhere, piercing the fallen man. Whipping around, Videl saw her newly appointed bodyguard standing with his index finger pointed out, his own opponent with a hole in his body.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Videl screamed out frustrated. "Why do you have to keep killing everybody?!"

Tien just looked at her before pointing at the many dead bodies around them. "They would've killed us if I didn't kill them," he replied.

"Don't you think we could've kept one of them alive so we could interrogate him?"

"What's the point? They're all pirates. They would've just told us a bunch of crap and I would've killed them anyways."

Videl seethed. It was times like these that the Satan girl regretted her decision to bail this guy out. True, the guy was good, displaying the same odd abilities as Gohan had; a pretty good asset when you kept getting attacked by space pirates every other day. But when you wanted to use one, just one guy to get some answers, the bald bodyguard was a nuisance.

"You know, we could ask one of them why every single pirate seems to be attacking everything that moves," Videl said, still seething.

"Oh. I never thought about that. We can do that next time."

That was it. That was all she could take. Videl was going to beat her bodyguard to a pulp. She didn't care if he was the better martial artists of the two; this guy was going to get a well deserved ass whooping. It was only a hoarse cough from the pirate at Tien's feet that saved him from the promising beating.

"You…want to know…why?" A brown, insect-like pirate said, blue blood dripping from his mouth.

Tien stared at the insect before replying "Yeah, we'd like that if you wouldn't mind spilling your guts."

A low chuckle followed by another hoarse cough was the insect's reply before he said "The Galactic Tyrant…was found…floating…out in space," another hoarse cough was made, blood joining the expelling air, "…no one knows…how it…happened…but…no sign…of Bojack…anywhere…"

"That makes some sense. Allow me to ease you passing as a token of gratitude," Tien responded.

The insect smiled. "That…would be…most welcomed…"

Videl turned around, not wanting to see Tien's final strike. Throughout her entire life, Videl had never seen so much death around her, the only exception being at Cash's mansion on Vegeta. It was going to be awhile before she ever got use to all the carnage around her.

"So Bojack's not being a menace anymore," Tien said as he stared down at the recently deceased pirate.

"I've heard that name before," Videl said, turning around, "Who is he?"

Tien looked up at his employer. "Bojack is a vicious space pirate. Very cruel and unforgiving. He's not very good with competition so many other pirates tended to stay away from this area of space. That's about the only good thing you can say about him, reducing the number of pirate attacks in this part of space. But now it looks like a lot of other pirates are trying to take advantage of his disappearance and take over Bojack's territory. It at least tells us why we've been getting attacked a lot," Tien explained.

Videl slowly nodded her head, this new information sinking in. Ever since they had left Vegeta, they had been attacked by a different crew of pirates almost every other day or that's what it seemed like to the girl.

"So when do you think we'll be able to travel without these pests on heels?" Videl asked.

"Probably when we get into the protected space territory of Earth, though I wouldn't count on it," was Tien's answer. "But for the time being, I think we need to clean up this mess so we can get going again. And tell that blond friend of yours that it's safe to come out now."

Videl nodded. Once again, Erasa had been able to convince the Satan girl into letting her tag along. Although she was a liability in fights, her ability to get certain things the party needed was very useful. Personally, Videl would've preferred just beating someone senseless to get what she wanted but the less conflict, the better.

And for the time being, Videl had to find that blond girl. 'Now if I was a blond, where would I hide,' Videl thought as she walked down the ship's corridor.

* * *

'Insane' was all Gohan could think of as he stared out of a stone balcony doorway. Outside of the balcony, a mob of people were camping outside, busy doing their daily chores. It wasn't like seeing a mob was all that relevant to the saiyan, it was just that this particular mob stretch out for miles towards the horizon.

White tents decorated the landscape as men, women, and children, resembling Bibidi, carried on their daily lives as if they had always lived there. However, from what Gohan understood, these weren't homeless people but protesters. People from all over the globe had traveled to this one particular spot to show their protest of Majin Buu's inability to drive away the attacking human forces.

According to Bibidi, Buu had always been able to drive away invading forces quite easily; making the people happy and carefree of any sort of trouble. However, when the humans proved more persistent, calls for immediate expulsion of the invading force soon became rampant. As time wore on, calls for Buu to step down as guardian were made so that some kind of treaty could be made with the humans. Yet, Buu continued his job as guardian, protecting the planet without a care in the world. When the people discovered that their message was being ignored, they came in droves, camping out on Bibidi's property, trying to prove that the whole population was against their planet's protector.

"Madness, isn't it?" Bibidi said as he walked over to stand next to Gohan.

"Got that right. When did they all start doing this?" Gohan asked still looking out at the mob.

"A couple months after the first Earthling invasion. They've been living there for a good part of the year. I don't know where they got the idea that making a treaty with the Earthlings will benefit them but they need to get that out of their heads"

Gohan nodded. "Did they expect this invasion would only last a month or something? No war that I know of has ever been that short unless the aggressor was too invested in it."

"Apparently so. It's a shame that they can't see what that treaty with the Earthlings will ultimately do."

"You'd think that they had never heard of the Namekian genocide."

Bibidi chuckled. "Indeed. But ignorance is bliss and these people just want an easy way out. It's not like the Earthlings have done too much damage to the people here; Buu's made sure of that."

Gohan nodded. These people had no idea who they were dealing with. It wasn't like the humans would just stop their conquest with a treaty or two. They would eventually take the planet as their own and do away with the native inhabitants, just like all of the other planets they had taken.

"I'm sorry to hear that. They don't know how good they have it. I hope it doesn't take till the humans have nearly wiped them out to realize it."

Bibidi nodded his head in agreement. "Something tells me they'll figure it out soon enough."

Gohan just continued to stare out at the sea of protesters. Suddenly, he turned to look at Bibidi. "May I ask a favor of you?"

Bibidi turned to look at Gohan. "And that would be?" he inquired.

"I need to get my hands on a spaceship with enough room for me and the younger two. Think you can help me out?" Gohan answered.

Bibidi smiled. "Most certainly. I'll have your ship ready by tomorrow afternoon."

"Thank you," Gohan said before leaving towards a bedroom. Might as well get some rest until then.

* * *

As the morning sun lit up the sky, the entire populous of Majin protestors awoke to a scene best described as a nightmare.

Before them a large infantry force stood, looking over the enormous crowd from atop a ridge. Humans baring the infamous Blitz rifles positioned themselves along the ridge, ready for the order to attack.

However, the crowd of civilians went into an instant panic; chaos dominating the camp as the people tried to escape their inevitable fate.

Grinning with malice, the commanding officer gave out the attack order; the beams of blitz blasts subsequently flew through the air, biting into their helpless victims.

This was the scene that Gohan and company saw the moment they rushed to the balcony doorway; apprehension anger starting to overwhelm them.

However, before any of the saiyans could move, they felt their bodies freeze. It was as if an invisible blanket had been laid on them. Even as they struggled to move, they soon came to the conclusion that they were trapped…again. But for some odd reason, they didn't have that alarmed feeling they did when Bojack's cronies had paralyzed them.

"Wait," was all they heard from their captor Bibidi. "Buu will handle this. It's what he was created for."

Keeping their eyes looking through the small portal that the balcony doorway provided them, they watched as the humans slaughtered the Majin protestors; all the while, horror consumed the saiyans. When was that fat pink blob going to end this madness?

Suddenly, the rifle fire ceased. The sounds of Majin Buu's childish laughter soon reached the saiyan's ears, causing the three to sigh in relief. Bibidi soon released the captive warriors who then rushed out on to the stone balcony. Before them, a devastating battlefield littered with bodies appeared. Looking towards the ridge that the humans had positioned themselves, Gohan saw Majin Buu standing with his back to the ugly scene, facing the human soldiers and laughing his childish laugh.

"Buu see you want to play more. You make Buu happy," the pink blob said followed by his childish laughter.

The soldiers froze in places, each one shaking nervously as Buu stood before them.

"Buu have good idea. Buu want to go to house. We play there," Buu said as he continued to chat with the frightened men. "Come. Buu show you way."

Turning around to head to his house, Buu's sight finally beheld the battlefield behind him. Slowly, his squinted eyes opened, fully taking in the devastating scene. Losing his calm, childish demeanor, Buu stuttered "Wha-what happened? Why are people dead?"

One officer managed to find his voice and began gloating about the destruction. "You see that fat boy? We did that. And if you know what's good for you, you'll give up the planet to us. So what do ya say?"

Taking a few steps towards the destruction, Buu began to whimper slightly, his eyes transfixed on the horrible sight. When the words of the officer reached his ears, the innocent eyes soon took on an angry look, rage building up inside Buu as white and pink smoke soon started to seep out of the holes dotting his body. Gritting his teeth, Buu gave off a cry of rage and sorrow as the smoke racing out of him, the streams never stopping.

The humans watched the spectacle in fascination. What the heck was this guy doing?

As Buu screamed, his voice transformed from one of high pitch to a very deep and twisted one. The smoke flying from his holes increased in velocity as it headed up high into the sky, collecting with the rest that had already been gathering up there.

Staring at the forming cloud of smoke, Goten finally asked "What's going on out there?"

Suddenly, Bibidi came running out onto the balcony, apprehension dominating his features.

"This is bad," the wizard said worryingly, "Something's wrong with Buu. Can't you feel it?"

The three saiyans looked at Bibidi before looking back to the scene in front to them, alternating staring at Buu screaming and the growing cloud of smoke. "You have any idea what's going on here?" Trunks asked.

"Can't you feel it? That cloud is no ordinary cloud. There's something in there that's not right," Bibidi replied as he grew more nervous with each passing second.

Gohan focused his senses on the growing cloud, nearly jumping out of his skin when he felt a dark presence. What the hell was in that cloud? It was full of dark emotions, twisted intent, and completely chaotic. Gohan could even go as far as saying that thing was darkness itself.

Suddenly, Buu stopped screaming, promptly collapsing to the ground unconscious. It took a little time but the human soldiers began celebrating, cheering and firing their weapons into the air. They had finally defeated the planet's powerful protector and they hadn't lost a single man.

However, they failed to recognize the large cloud that loomed overhead. The only people paying it any mind were Bibidi and the saiyans; the Majin protestors abandoning their camp and the humans still in mid celebration. It was because of that that only those four got to see the spectacle of the cloud condensing and taking a more solid form.

Once the cloud had reached its peak size, the cloud began to shrink, retracting on itself. No definite shape took form until the cloud was only a few feet in diameter. Slowly, the gas stretched itself till it was about four to five feet tall. At its bottom, legs began to take shape. Arms grew out as a torso appeared. Once the main part of the body seemed to be definable; a head started to take form, an antenna looking thing perched on top.

As the cloud took shape, suddenly the gas became a pink colored skin; white pants and black boots covering the lower half with a black M on the belt. Black forearm covering appeared as a small, child like creature finished taking form. Floating above everyone and everything, the pink child looked around. The creature looked like a smaller and skinnier version of Buu; it's eyes the only difference between the two. Instead of black eyes surrounded by white, red eyes surrounded by black showed the difference between the two Majins.

As the pink child's eyes fell onto the celebrating soldiers, something told him that they didn't belong here, that they were a menace and needed to be dealt with. A smirk made itself known on the child's face.

It had no problem eradicating such pests.

With a cruel cackle, this pink creature flew straight at its unsuspecting prey. However, due to its laugh, the soldiers immediately saw the charging creature. Cold chills ran down their spines as they stared at it in wonder and a growing sense of fear. Quickly, they unleashed the fire power of their blitz rifles, the beams hitting the pink child in midair, tearing him into pieces. Small bits and pieces fell to the ground signifying the last of the pink thing. Laughter erupted from the soldiers as they once again started to celebrate, but this time their celebrating would be cut short.

The bits and pieces began to move.

Before their eyes, the pink pieces began to work their way, slowly at first but eventually gaining speed, together. Soon, the form of the pink child took shape, kneeling on the ground with one of its arms resting on its bent leg; not even a scratch on his rubbery pink skin. A stern look was etched on its face, looking over the soldiers as fear became prominent of their faces. A smirk then crossed his face. It was time for this pink guy to have some fun now.

The chilling cackle once again erupted from the child's mouth as it raised one of its arms and suddenly fired it at high speeds, catching its victim off guard. The small hand slammed into the face of one of the soldiers, its fingers clinching down on his head before pushing the man off his feet and cracking his skull on the side of one of the human's vehicles.

The man just hung limply from the overstretched arm and hand before it let go off the victim, returning to the child. The soldier slumped against the vehicle before sliding down it, a trail of blood marking where the head had recently been as it slid down against the tank.

The human soldiers turned their head from looking at their fallen comrade to look at the pink beast, fear completely encompassing them.

The child just stared back at them, his red eyes taking in all of their fear. A small smirk began to work its way on to his face before he suddenly started to suck in air. His small chest began to expand till it was jutting out in front of him; similar to a croaking bullfrog. The humans, however, recognized what the pink creature was doing, memories of the same technique that Majin Buu had used repeatedly on them before. Panic gripping them, they all dropped their weapons and ran away, trying to put as much distance between them and the creature as possible.

As soon as the men ran off, the pink creature unleashed the air gathered in its lungs, a powerful gust of air racing ahead, destroying anything in its path. All of the human vehicles were torn apart, any soldier hiding with in them killed. With dirt and dust kicking up, the whole ridge was covered in a thick cloud. When the cloud finally settled, only bits of scrap metal could be seen; the only proof that anything stood there previously.

Turning his head, the pink creature saw the scene of humans running. Screams of "Monster" and "Help" could be heard. The child frowned. Why would those men run away when the fun was just beginning?

Raising his arm lazily, his index finger extended, quick bursts of ki blasts were suddenly being fired. The beams tore through the soldiers, sometimes one blast killing them to multiple ones ending their lives; their screams being heard for miles. The child began to laugh manically, his blue tongue becoming visible as the scene of death was being created.

Meanwhile, Bibidi and his saiyan guests were in shock from the entire display. "This…this is terrible," Bibidi managed to squeak out, his eyes showing his fear.

"What's happening? What is that thing?" Goten said, eyes transfixed on the scene.

Managing to regain some of his composure, Bibidi answered "It…it seems as if Buu has separated into two different beings. The Buu I made and this evil Buu. I…I don't understand how this could be possible."

"Well if you say that that Buu is evil, is it possible that he could be all of your Buu's negativity or something?" Trunks asked, never taking his eyes away from the newly named Evil Buu.

"That's it!" Bibidi exclaimed. "That Buu has to be all of the negative emotions Majin Buu felt due to the human invasion and all of the protestors dissent with his job. It makes so much sense!"

Suddenly, Evil Buu stopped firing ki blasts, all of his retreating victims dead. He seemed to be in deep concentration as he stared out in front of him. Then his head began to look in all directions, never taking notice of the four spectators or his fallen good half. Finally, he looked up into the sky and began to cackle. He found exactly what he was looking for.

Crouching slightly, Evil Buu leapt into the sky, flying straight up into the atmosphere.

"Where's he going?" Goten asked, his eyes following the pink fighter.

"I think he's going to be paying a visit to the folks up there," Trunks said, his eyes also following Buu. "And I don't think they're gonna like seeing him.

* * *

To dbzfan952: Lol, appearently I can write good fight scenes. I was starting to get worried if people would follow them since I was starting to have a little bit of trouble of understanding them. I guess not. I'll try that website again. It might've not been set up yet or something. Thanks again.

To ss death: I hear ya. A great thing to be lazy. Hell, I was too lazy to update this chapter yesterday but oh well, it's here now.


	18. Fade

Christmas has passed and another holiday is on the horizon. New Years is almost upon us people, the end of 2007...had no idea it was 2007. But anyways, here is my last chapter of this year. Enjoy.

* * *

Floating high above the large brown planet, a fleet of battleships hovered, watching the desolate world, waiting for their chance to set their bulking bodies upon the land. The black void of space, dotted by billions of stars surrounded them. Taking one look at the fleet, you would get the impression of overkill. Hundreds, if not, thousands of battleships stared at the planet of Majiventa, just waiting for their opportunity. 

Staring at the planet from the lead ship, an officer looked on with a look of disdained. This worthless mud ball of a planet had cost countless lives, manpower, and supplies of the Earth Military force and there wasn't a scrap of progress made; not to mention the number of officers that lost their command over this…this…_thing_.

As he continued to look down upon the planet, he noticed something odd. There was something leaving it; something small and moving fast.

'What the hell is that?' the officer though, straining his eyes to see it more clearly. The longer he watched the thing, the better he could make the thing out. From what he could gather, it was something small and pink. It looked almost like a person.

"Oh my Kami, it's that monster from the planet!" a soldier screamed as he recognized the approaching creature.

Eyes widening, the officer started to bark out orders, "Everybody to battle stations! Prepare to fire the Blitz Cannon! I want that pink piece of chewing gum to be floating in pieces NOW!"

Working quickly, soldiers ran to their stations, working diligently on the officer's order. Soon enough, data began to be displayed on the glass window; displays of the cannon charging as a percentage number climbed steadily till it reached 100.

"FIRE!" the officer cried out once full power had been obtained. With a slight jerk of the ship, a large beam sudden flew past the observation window, heading straight towards the approaching guardian.

Within moments, the pink creature was swallowed by the beam, utterly consumed as the beam flew through space, barely skimming the planet's atmosphere. When the beam died down, only bits and pieces of the pink guardian could be seen. Cheers from the crew range out as applause and congratulations were passed around. Several soldiers had approached the officer, offering handshakes which the officer returned.

Suddenly, someone cried out "Wait, what's happening out there?"

As the ship's crew looked towards the observation window, they saw an extraordinary sight. Before them, the pink debris gathered itself together before forming into the pink monstrosity. Looks of disbelief covered the faces of the soldiers before they all rushed over to their battle positions again, and began firing all the smaller weapons at the creature.

Just as the blitz beams arrived at their target, the monster disappeared, the beams flying past the impact zone and falling to the planet.

As the crew looked at the observation window clueless, Buu suddenly appeared in front of the window; his hands next to his face, his fingers wiggling, and his tongue waving at them. A brief cry of surprise filled the command room with the sudden appearance before all the soldiers stared at Buu, looks of mixed fear and curiosity written on their faces.

When Buu saw the looks he was receiving, he stopped his antics. Balling up his fist, he drew back his fist before swinging it, breaking the glass as his fist entered the ship.

Screams of panic filled the room as the fist broke into the ship and them exit it, the sudden rush of air through the hole lifting anyone who wasn't holding onto something. As the unfortunate souls, who were being sucked to the hole, flew through the air, they suddenly stopped in midair, falling to the ground. What was going on?

Looking up at the window, everyone could see Buu had covered the hole with his mouth, stopping the air from leaving the ship. After a few moments, a sucking sound could be heard as Buu began to inflate, his body size increasing like a balloon. The soldiers stared at the spectacle in curiosity, clueless as to what Buu was doing. When Buu seemed to reach a certain limit, the sucking sound stopped. After a few moments, a fast current filled the room, blowing everyone into the wall furthest away from the window.

Watching from the other ships, soldiers watched as the lead ship began to bulk up. It was like watching a balloon inflate. However, when the ship began to look like it was going to burst, many soldiers began to panic. It was the sudden jerking of the ship and the bright light that told them that the lead ship had exploded, a loud thunder reaching their ears.

As the lead ship exploded, a few ships that were too close to the explosion got caught in it, creating their own explosions. When all of the explosions dissipated, a large pink beam tore from the explosion zone, tearing a line straight through the crowd of battleships. All of the ships hit by the blast exploded, causing nearby ships to explode as well.

With an insane cackle, Buu bent the lower half of his body backwards, his legs reaching his head. Grabbing on to his calves, Buu suddenly launched himself at the nearest ship, tearing a hole straight through it. Making several U-turns, the pink ball slammed itself over and over again into the helpless ship until it couldn't take it anymore, exploding in a great flash of light and fire.

Many ships fired their weapons at the pink demon but none could put him out of commission. It even got to the point where many human battleships fired on their own comrades when Buu flew in front of them. Chaos reigned throughout the battlefield.

It was a few short hours later that the remains of the human space force floated in ruin throughout the vacuum of space. Scrapes of metal and debris floated aimlessly about, a flag of the Planet Earth in the middle of it, torn and ruined.

A loud cry of laughter rang out amongst the wreckage. Floating in a hunched over position, arms wrapped around his stomach, Evil Buu laughed at all the ruin he was surrounded by. Tears soon flowed down his cheeks as he laughed harder and harder.

* * *

It had been several days since Buu had obliterated the Earth space force. The people of Majiventa had gone into a huge celebration never before seen on the planet. The war was over and they could return to their homes for the first time in months.

However, everything wasn't as rosy as that. As it turned out, the Evil Buu up in space wouldn't let anyone on the planet or off. A few times the humans had sent scout forces to Majiventa to see what had caused the disappearance to the large space fleet, only to have their forces annihilated. While that was a good thing, that "protection" was also hindering the Majin people.

A couple days after the space battle, a ship carrying Majin traders left Majiventa, heading off to reestablish trade with other civilizations. Buu had seen the ship leaving the planet and destroyed it without hesitation. At the moment, the Majin people were prisoners on their own planet.

This didn't sit well with the saiyan trio.

"Great, this is just perfect. We're trapped on a planet with plenty of ways to leave it but there's a piece of chewing gum destroying any ship that comes within a mile of the planet. Just peachy," Gohan ranted, pacing up and down the stone room as Trunks and Goten watched. Gohan had been like a loose cannon the moment it was discovered that Buu would attack any and every spaceship.

Sure they had thought up a bunch of different ways to leave but each one was shot down due to the presence of Buu. Everything from sending a bunch of different spaceships up at once to launching on the opposite side of the planet from Buu. However, none of the ideas were applicable since Buu could easily shoot anything down once he saw it.

As Gohan was about to launch into another rant, Bibidi entered the room. Having heard the saiyan going mad throughout most of the day, the little wizard had had it! It was time to get this good for nothing saiyan out of his house and doing something!

"Why don't you fight Buu then?" the little man demanded, highly irritated. "At least do something other than belly aching. You're giving me a headache!"

Gohan glared at the wizard. "And how do you expect me, Trunks, and Goten to beat something that could annihilate a force that our whole people couldn't?"

Bibidi growled. "Well don't you have some kind of super power or something? You can't be that inept at fighting or something!"

Intensifying his glare, Gohan shouted back "And how are we supposed to go up against a creature like that?! We don't have that kind of power!"

"Then why don't you get some then?! Just do something other than sitting on you ass and bitching!" Bibidi shot back.

Goten decided to try and quell the argument down somewhat. "But Bibidi sir, it's not like we can get ten times stronger in just a second. Plus, we don't have the time to be training just to get off the planet."

Bibidi just sighed in frustration before turning to look at Gohan, a little surprised at what he found. Before him, Gohan looked to be deep in thought, almost calculating something in his head. Slowly, a smile worked its way onto Gohan's face. "I think there might be a way to beat this Buu guy."

Everyone's head perked up, almost curious as to what Gohan had planned. "Gohan, what are you planning?" Trunks asked curiously.

Gohan smirked and looked towards Goten and Trunks. "Guys, rest up for the rest of the day. Tonight, we get rid of that Buu creature. Understand?"

Slowly nodding their heads, the two younger saiyans left the room towards their bedrooms, obeying Gohan's orders.

Bibidi looked at Gohan curiously. "Now young man, you must tell me what you have planned."

The saiyan just smirked at the wizard. "Don't you worry your little head off. Everything should go like I hope it will. But I'm gonna need your help at the very end, so you're gonna need to get some rest too."

Eying Gohan warily, the wizard nodded his head before leaving for his own bedchamber. Turning around, Gohan headed off in the direction Trunks and Goten had headed off to.

_(Kid, I hope you know what you're doing)_

(Don't worry Piccolo; I'm pretty sure I know what I'm doing)

_(Pretty sure?)_

(Yeah. Something wrong with that?)

_(Whatever you say Kid)_

* * *

"So let me get this straight. You want me to blow up some kind of glowing ball in the sky when the fight is all over?"

At the present moment, the three saiyan warriors and Bibidi were flying towards the middle of nowhere, trying to get away from any form of Majin society. They didn't need any casualties in the upcoming battle.

"Pretty much. Oh, and make sure you stay alive during the whole battle. Don't need to have you as a corpse at the end of it," Gohan replied.

Bibidi's eyes went wide. "You mean I could die during this whole charade?"

"Possibly," Gohan answered, "But I don't think you will. You managed to live through all of those battles that your original Buu went through so this shouldn't be a problem for you."

"That's because my Buu and the humans weren't attacking each other in every single direction!" Bibidi shouted out.

Gohan just gave a small smile and turned his attention to flying. Bibidi on the other hand started to grumble about half baked plans and reckless aliens. The wizard's grumblings continued the rest of the way before Gohan stopped, causing the other three to halt.

Looking around the area, Gohan took in the surrounding area of hills, mountains, and trees before nodding. "This place should do for our plans. Bibidi, go find a place to hide. Things are about to get very…_messy_…"

Gulping, the little wizard took off and hid amongst the hills and mountains. One by one, the saiyan trio floated down from the sky and landed on the soft grass of this odd terrain. Considering that the planet was mostly desert, it seemed unusual for such a location to exist here but that was of little concern. Turning to Trunks and Goten, Gohan asked them "Are you two ready?"

Nodding their confirmation, deathly serious looks upon their faces, Gohan held out his hand before him, grabbing the wrist with his other hand. It took awhile but Gohan managed to gather the right amount of ki, forming a bright white ball floating above his hand. Turning away from the two younger saiyans, Gohan took a deep breath before cocking his arm back and then throwing the ball high into the air.

With a loud cry, Gohan yelled "Moon Blast Explode!"

Within seconds, the white ball exploded, an eerie glow emanating from the white ball. Looking up from his hiding place, Bibidi saw the ball set itself into the sky. Seeing nothing of importance, he turned his attention to the three saiyans that were looking up at the ball in the sky.

Nothing was happening.

Bibidi cursed under his breath. What a load of bull that Gohan character fed him. He said there would be noticeable changes occurring in this crazy expedition and yet nothing was going on.

Suddenly, he saw something odd. It seemed like the three saiyans were entranced by that light in the sky. Then their bodies seemed to spasm a little. It was a little funny to watch but it wasn't what he was expecting to happen.

Then the wizard notice the spasm getting more obvious, increasing in occurrence before the saiyans began to grow. Higher and higher into the air, the three warriors grew, a brown fur covering any exposed flesh. Oddly enough, their armor and spandex was growing with them too. Interesting…

Then Bibidi got a good look at one of the saiyan's face, gasping. The handsome face of a young man had been morphed into something dreadful. A large snout had grown where the nose and mouth used to be; sharp fangs protruding from the wide open snout. Dark, leathery skin replaced the smooth, fair skin of the warrior as fur covered the edges of his face. The worse part about that dreadful face, though, was the eyes. Large, bright red eyes shined from the eye sockets, a look of pure madness clearly written in them.

It took several minutes but finally the transformations ended. Standing where three saiyan youths once stood, three large and frightening apes stood. Raising its arms into the air, one of the apes let out a fearsome roar, a roar duplicated by the other two as the three monkeys went berserk. Anything within reaching distance was crushed underneath as the apes slammed their fists into them. Trees were crushed underneath their enlarged boots, mountains smashed by swinging arms and fists, cries of pure madness being roared into the night.

This was one night that Bibidi would never forget.

* * *

Quiet.

That was the one word Buu could use to describe space. It was quiet.

And cold.

Floating amongst the debris of destroyed battleships, Evil Buu floated semi-consciously. With his arms and legs crossed over each other and his eyes closed, the pink creature just floated in a slow, random direction. It had been like this for the past couple days. No one had come anywhere near the planet for days.

Exactly as it was supposed to be.

As the peacefulness of space reigned on, a stray beam of light made contact with his eyelid, causing the beast to stir. Opening his eyes, he saw the last thing he expected.

There, on his planet, a bright ball of light shown. It didn't seem to be doing anything but just staying where it was. Then something else caught the creature's attention. Around the light, it seemed like explosions and untold amounts of destruction were occurring. While he could leave that ball as is, what ever was causing the destruction on _his_ planet could not go unpunished.

Straightening himself out, Buu headed down to the planet's surface to stop what ever was attacking his planet.

* * *

Bibidi continued to stare in horror as the giant apes were destroying everything in sight. Madness…it was all madness…

However, something was streaking towards the destructive apes from the sky, drawing the attention of the wizard. As he watch, the streak became a fireball, approaching the area faster and faster until it smashed into the ground, a tremor occurring from the landing.

Taking a look at the recently created creator, Bibidi gasped. Appearing out of the whole, a pissed off Evil Buu stared at the saiyan apes, his fists clinched in anger.

Then it suddenly made sense to Bibidi. Gohan was using the apes to draw Buu's attention to the planet, causing him to come and investigate. Obviously, the ape's destruction was the means for this. But Gohan had also said something about a fight…

Oh dear Kami, he was planning on fighting Buu as one of those berserk apes.

Staring at the monsters attacking the countryside, Buu frowned. Were these things causing all of this destruction? Had to be. Well, not for long…

Raising his arm up, he fired a ki blast at the back of one of the apes, hitting directly between the ape's shoulder blades. Thrown off balance, the ape gave out a loud roar before falling to the ground. As the ape landed on the ground, its two friends stopped what they were doing and looked at the attacker, seeing the creature known as Buu.

Growling, one of the apes leapt into the air, arms raised above its head, one foot positioned to step on the annoying pest; a loud roar coming from its snout.

Leaping backwards, Buu dodged the attack, landing several feet away from the ape's landing point. Buckling his legs, Buu launched himself into the air until he was about eye level with the beast. Drawing his fist back, Buu threw his fist, his arm stretching until the fist made contact in between the eyes of the ape.

Nothing happened.

The ape didn't looked fazed at all…except…

It…was…pissed…now…

Opening its mouth, a large ki blast was fired from the ape's gullet, encompassing the surprised Buu.

Bibidi almost did a victory jig at the sudden vanquishing on Buu but refrained from doing so. This Buu was just as resilient to being obliterated as his own Buu. He'd be back very shortly.

Unfortunately, the wizard wasn't disappointed. In a matter of minutes, Buu reassembled himself, none too pleased. It looked like he'd have to put more effort into killing this ape.

Eyeing the newly formed Buu, the ape launched another attack, aiming to punch the living daylights out of this odd pink creature. Buu would have none of that, raising both arms and firing multiple ki blasts, the smoke from the blasts exploding covering the ape as it screamed. As Buu continued to fire blast after blast, it never noticed the last ape moving off to his side until it had landed a very powerful punch, sending Buu straight into a mountain, embedding him in it.

Roaring in victory, the ape leapt into the air and landed on top of the mountain, causing it to crumble. The crumbling threw the ape's balance off as it began falling backwards off the ruined pile of rock. Dashing out of the collapsing mountain, Buu landed several yards away from the rubble before he took off into the air, very unhappy and slightly dirty. Raising his arm above his head, a large ball of energy appeared floating over his head. Letting out a war cry, Buu threw the ball at the ape; a large explosion erupting on the spot.

Grinning at his artwork, Buu turned around only to run into the first ape he attacked throwing a fist at him. Reacting quickly, Buu managed to dodge the humongous fist and then the second before charging at the ape, ramming into the monster's chest. The sudden attack threw the ape off balance, leaving him only to stand on one foot.

Flipping in the air, Buu landed on the ground and acted quickly. Stretching both of his arms, his arms went on both sides of the ape's foot, his hands clasping each other on the backside of the foot. Pulling towards him, Buu removed the ape's only stable foot, causing it to topple over.

Leaping into the air, Buu charged another ki blast, his strongest one yet, to ensure that the ape wouldn't live. However, he never got to fire his attack as a large furry thing slammed into him, knocking him far away and landing on the ground. Recovering from his collision, Buu looked up towards the ape and saw what had knocked him aside.

The damn ape's tail.

Buu growled. He couldn't fight like this forever. These apes were a lot more powerful than he had initially thought. Forming a plan, Buu stood on his feet and concentrated. In a matter of moments, Buu's body began to increase. Growing taller and taller, Buu continued his size increase till he stood on at the same height as the apes. Now was the time for him to kick some major monkey ass.

Standing before him, his last ape opponent had gotten back onto his feet and was none to pleased with an oversized pink thing. Unleashing a loud roar, the ape fired yet another ki blast from its mouth. Reacting in kind, Buu fired his own ki blast from his mouth; the blasts colliding with each other, pushing each other back and forth between the users.

It wasn't until one of the other apes had gotten off his lazy monkey rear and attacked Buu did anything change between the stalemated blasts. Grabbing a large boulder, the ape threw the rock at Buu. Breaking his concentration, Buu punched the incoming boulder, shattering it into hundreds of pieces with his fist. It was that break in concentration that the other ape's ki blast got the upper hand and overcame Buu's blast.

Rushing through the air, the blast tore off Buu head, a stump of a neck the only evidence that a head had ever stood there. Almost mockingly, Buu's arms grabbed at the air above his headless body before a fresh head popped back into existence, an evil grin on his face. However, that grin disappeared when it saw the three apes had surrounded him.

Forming a triangle around him, Buu at its center, the apes growled and bared their fangs at the pink creature. It didn't take long before one of the apes fired a large ki ball blast at Buu, nailing him in the back. Almost on cue, the other two apes fired ki ball blasts at Buu and continued to fire them one after another. It wasn't before long that a pillar of flames had encompassed Buu and yet, the apes continued to fire ki ball blasts.

Staring at the spectacle, Bibidi decided to act. Holding his arms out in front of him, Bibidi shouted out "Papala-pa-pa!"

Suddenly, the column of flames soon glowed an intense red. Holding his concentration, Bibidi increased the intensity of the flames, hopefully destroying Evil Buu within the flames.

Inside the pillar, Buu was screaming a silent scream. Piece after piece of himself was slowly being dissolved amongst the flames. Never had he ever felt this kind of pain before and it was excruciatingly taking his life away. What felt like an eternity finally ended as Buu disappeared from existence.

For the whole time, Bibidi used his magic as the apes continued to fire blast after blast. When Bibidi felt the disappearance of Buu's ki, he ended his spell and almost collapsed.

As the whole battle had shown him, Bibidi knew what he had to do now. Staring up at the large ball in the air, the wizard's eyes glowed brightly. The bright ball grew brighter before it suddenly shattered, particles of it blowing away into the wind.

Once the ball was destroyed, the saiyan apes slowed down their relentless attack, coming to a complete stop. Very little time went by before the apes started to shrink and become more humanoid until Gohan, Goten, and Trunks had returned, each in the same position their ape form had been when they had stopped. Without a wasted second, all three saiyans fell to the ground unconscious.

* * *

After the colossal battle between the saiyan apes and Evil Buu, Gohan and co. were finally leaving the planet. They had each woken up the next day, about midday, in the beds given to them by Bibidi. How the wizard managed to get them back to his house was a mystery to them but they weren't complaining.

They had spent the last couple days recovering from the battle, along with the Majin people preparing a ship for them. Finally they would continue their journey to Earth.

Settling in comfortable seats, the saiyans prepared for launch.

"So Trunks, what are we going to do when we get back into space?" Goten asked.

Trunks shrugged his shoulders. "Beats me, but we have to do something to occupy our time."

Suddenly grinning mischievously, Goten pointed at Gohan and whispered "How about we have a little fun with him?"

The same grin appeared on Trunks face. "That has to be your best idea yet; not that you had many."

"Hey! I have plenty of ideas!"

"Sure you do Goten, sure you do."

"At least it's better than that one time you…"

Gohan shook his head. They hadn't even left the planet and already those two were bickering.

It was going to be a loooooooooooooooong trip.

* * *

To dbzfan952: And I hope you liked this fight too. A very unusual battle I'll admit, but one I haven't ever seen. And I was worried I was losing my originality. 


	19. A Flat

And here it is, my first chapter of the new year. Amazing that I even got around to writing it. Been very lazy as to when I'd post it. Sorry about that. Now you don't have to hunt me down...I hope...

* * *

'Finally! After so many years, finally!' 

Hovering a couple feet above the floor, his arms and legs crossed, Gohan began to smile. It had taken years but all of his training had paid off. It was about time too. You never knew when you could use an ace in the hole.

_(Okay kid, what's all this celebrating about?)_ Piccolo asked him suddenly.

(It's nothing Piccolo. Just something I've been working on for a long time) Gohan responded, still pleased with himself.

_(It'd be nice to know what that is. Care to explain it? I can't seem to find it in your memory)_

Gohan chuckled. (No, this one I'll be keeping under wraps till I really need to use it)

_(Suit yourself)_

(Thanks)

Smiling slightly, Gohan continued his meditation. Sometimes it wasn't so bad having an old Namek in your head.

_(I heard that kid)_

Gohan sweatdropped. Whoops; hadn't meant to actually think that, at least with the Namek still active in his mind. He needed to become more aware of what was going on in his brain.

That and when Trunks and Goten were going to pull their next prank.

Gohan almost swore under his breath. Ever since they had left Majiventa, those two had gone on a campaign to prank Gohan as many times as possible. It was getting to the point where Gohan could barely move his foot and spring one of their mindless creations.

He must've done something wrong in a past life.

However, something was odd. He hadn't heard much from the two younger saiyans in almost an hour. Rarely did he ever have that much time with himself unless they had set up another prank. Might as well go set it off so they can have their cheap laugh.

Gohan grinned. And after that prank, he would personally make sure they never want to see another toilet. Swirlies and two teenaged saiyans were always a blast.

Getting up from his meditative position, Gohan headed to the door and opened it. What he saw on the other side of the door was a large fist slamming into his face.

Thrown off his feet, Gohan flew into the wall opposite of the door, crashing into it, and falling to the ground on his stomach. Still seeing stars, Gohan tried to regain his senses when a large boot struck on the back of his skull, slamming Gohan's head onto the floor. A mind numbing pain washed over the saiyan as he tried to get back up. That's when the boot once again bashed his head on the floor, knocking him out.

'Not again,' was Gohan's last thought as he plunged into unconsciousness.

* * *

Goten was staring at his brother in the cell across from him.

Once again, they had been boarded and captured. This was starting to get old. Why couldn't they just have a nice, uneventful trip to Earth? At this rate, it would take only Kami knows how long just to get there.

Goten continued to stare. If there was only something he could do to get him, Gohan, and Trunks out of this mess. Gohan was obviously still out of it and Trunks was taking a nap. How that guy could take a nap in this kind of situation, he'd never know.

Staring at the bars, he dared not touch them. He had tried earlier and got the crap shocked out of him and he wasn't too keen on having that happen again. Looking around his cell, he didn't notice anything that could help him out in this situation either. Frustrated, Goten slammed his fist up against the side of his cell, creating a hole in the wall.

Goten blinked. Was that all he had to do? Just punch a wall? Cautiously, Goten threw a harder punch causing more of the wall to break away. The young saiyan's eyes lit up. He could get out of his cell now!

Repeatedly, Goten attacked the wall till he made a hole big enough for him to walk through. Stepping through the hole, Goten found himself in another cell. Frowning, he walked up to the prison bars and touched them.

Nothing happened.

Once again, his eyes lit up and he grabbed the bars, tearing them out of place, and walking into the corridor. Now all he had to do was get his comrades out of this mess and they were home free.

"Goten? How did you get out?" a voice said coming out of nowhere.

Immediately dropping into a defensive stance, Goten barked out "Who's there?! Show yourself!"

"Uhh, Goten, it's me, Trunks."

Slowly turning his head, Goten saw Trunks looking at him from his cell, bewildered eyes staring at him. Grinning the infamous Son grin, Goten said "Oh, hey Trunks."

"Hi Goten. Umm, could you tell me how you got out?"

Looking proudly, Goten said "I punched a hole in the wall."

Blinking, Trunks responded "Oooookay. So Goten, why don't you go find the control panel and turn off the electricity to the bars."

Nodding his head, Goten went in search of the control panel Trunks had mentioned. As it turned out, that very control panel was right next to the door of the brig. Studying the panel, Goten figured out which switch was which and shut down the electrical guard. Moments later, the sound of metal being bent and twisted was heard. Turning around, Goten saw Trunks standing outside of his cell and moving towards Gohan's. Repeating the process, Trunks removed the bars and then stepped into the cell. Hurrying over, Goten arrived just as Trunks had lifted and moved Gohan to the cell door. Wordlessly, Trunks passed Gohan to Goten, who in turn laid the still unconscious saiyan onto the ground. Once again, Trunks and Goten remained silent as they watched Gohan's form, waiting for the older saiyan to wake up. After waiting a few minutes, the two younger saiyans began to get antsy.

"Trunks, we can't wait too much longer. Who knows when the guards might come check on us," Goten said as he knelt down next to his brother, his gaze never leaving him.

Trunks nodded. "I know. We're gonna have to wake him up."

Suddenly, Goten got a devilish smirk. "Shall we give him the special treatment?"

Trunks returned the smirk. "It's been awhile since the last time. Who knows when we'll get our next chance."

Standing up, Goten backed a couple feet away from Gohan; the same with Trunks. Doing a silent countdown, Goten and Trunks leapt into the air and landed feet first on Gohan's stomach. "Wake up Gohan!" both saiyans cried out, "it's time to wake up!"

Both saiyans continued to jump up and down on top of Gohan till the older saiyan woke up, which was very shortly. Immediately, Gohan's top half flew up from the ground, coughing loudly until Goten and Trunks landed on top of him.

Lying on the ground in a jumble of arms and legs, Gohan stared up at the ceiling with a very calm expression. Slowly turning his gaze to the two saiyans lying on top of him, the eldest saiyan said "Trunks. Goten."

Both saiyans turned their attention to Gohan once they heard their names said. Hearing the very, _very_ calm voice, they knew they were in deep trouble. "Yes?" they answered, hesitantly.

"Thank you for waking me up. That was very nice of you. Now…WILL YOU GET OFF OF ME?!"

In a flash, both saiyans were off the oldest saiyan, standing at attention and practically shouting out apologies, each apology getting jumbled with the next one and the other's apology. Getting off the ground and dusting himself off, Gohan held his hand up to silence the two, being successful.

"Okay you two. First off, stop apologizing." Both saiyans nodded at this still remaining silent. "Second, we need to get out of here. I'm really not in the mood for another confrontation until we get to Earth so we're going straight to any ship hanger or escape pod. We'll be sticking together on this one. Any questions?"

When both saiyans shook their heads no, Gohan nodded his head and turned around. "Okay, let's move out."

Leaving the brig, the three saiyans followed long corridors, always on the lookout for anything that could get them out of here or for any enemies that would appear. Oddly enough, they never found anyone.

_(I don't like this. This doesn't feel right at all)_ Piccolo said.

(I know what you mean. We should've run into someone by now) Gohan responded.

After checking multiple rooms and hallways. The warriors finally found themselves in what appeared to be an observation room. A large open space ran in every which way till it came to a staircase on the far side. About five or six steps made up the stairs which led to another floor that was about fifteen feet wide, running from wall to wall and up against the far wall. However, that far wall was not made of metal. A large glass window was there instead, allowing everyone to look into the vastness of space. It was a glorious sight though none of the warriors took any notice of it. Walking into the middle of the room, a deep voice stopped them in their tracks.

"It's about time you showed up."

Jerking to their left, all three warriors' eyes widen. Of all the people they expected to see, this was definitely the last one.

Before them stood the imposing figure of Bojack. Smirking in satisfaction from their response, Bojack spoke again. "What's wrong? You act as if you've seen a ghost."

"Maybe they have. It's not everyday you see one," a feminine voice said behind. Turning around, Trunks and Goten saw a very attractive blue woman, her curly orange hair cascading behind her. Gohan, on the other hand, never took his sights off of Bojack.

"Trunks. Goten," Gohan barked, drawing the attention of the younger saiyans to him. "I want you to fight Zangya. I'll take on Bojack. Don't let either of them double team you. Got it?"

"Yes sir," the both said, dropping into fighting stances at the same time; Gohan following their lead.

"Oh? Ready to die already? Fine then, I'll grant you your death wish," Bojack said, he too following into a fighting stance; the same with Zangya.

For the longest time, all five warriors stared at each other, none of them making a move. Simultaneously, the saiyan trio let out war cries before launching themselves at their opponents; Gohan at Bojack, Goten and Trunks at Zangya.

As he rushed at Bojack, Gohan used a sudden burst of speed to appear right behind the blue giant. Smirking, Bojack stiffened his right hand and swung his body around, slicing the air with his hand. Just as his chop reached the saiyan, it went right through him, surprising the space pirate. Slowly, the image of Gohan vanished before Bojack's eyes right before the saiyan's fist embedded itself in Bojack's stomach.

Bojack's mouth opened wide as he gasped for air, spit flying from out. Balling his other hand into a fist, Gohan slammed his fist into Bojack's face, knocking the blue man backwards. The saiyan then unleashed a barrage of punches at his wide open opponent, ending the attack by jumping into the air and slamming both of his feet into the space pirate's chest.

Flying backwards through the air, Bojack managed to recover himself and planted his feet on the floor, skidding a few extra feet. Once he had killed his earlier momentum, the blue man charged at Gohan, yelling a war cry as he threw a punch at his opponent's head.

Gohan easily dodged the punch and counter attacked with an uppercut, making contact with Bojack's chin and throwing him off balance. However, the as the blue man stumbled backwards, he fired a ki blast at the saiyan, Gohan dancing out of the way before charging again.

Growling, Bojack spun on his heel and dashed away with Gohan hot on his tail. The space pirate had no idea how the saiyan had improved this much. True, saiyan grew stronger after every battle but there was no way his opponent could've increased his power this dramatically since their last fight.

Suddenly, Gohan appeared a several feet in front of the running pirate. Slamming his feet on the floor and skidding to a stop, Bojack flung his arms out as he gathered ki, the green orbs appearing in his hands. However, before he could attack, Gohan had also gathered ki and pushed it up his throat. Opening his mouth, Gohan fired a ki blast; the blast colliding with Bojack's chest, sending him flying back the way he came and into the wall; his charged ki blasts dispersing.

Gohan coughed and rubbed his neck. Damn that energy burned his throat. He was gonna have to get used to this sensation or not bother using that technique again.

Meanwhile, Trunks and Goten were having a tougher time with Zangya. Standing a few feet from each other, both saiyans fired a barrage of ki blasts up into the air at the blue woman; who in turned dodged each blast gracefully, almost like she was dancing. This pissed the duo off and caused them to fire even more blasts, which Zangya dodge easily enough.

Frustrated, Trunk stopped firing ki blasts, unsheathed his sword and charged at Zangya. As the young saiyan swung his sword, Zangya disappeared, reappearing several feet away and with both of her hands pointed at Trunks. Soon, thin beams of light shot from her hands and wrapped around Trunks. Struggling, Trunks couldn't seem to break the restraints as he felt his energy being sucked from him.

Recognizing the paralysis technique, Goten used a burst of speed and appeared right next to Zangya. Holding nothing back, Goten slammed his fist into the face of the blue woman, sending her flying into the ground. Without wasting a second, Goten charged a ki blast and fired the beam, an explosion rocking the ship.

Grinning from his successful attack as smoke rose, the saiyan relaxed a bit when a sudden blast flew out of the cloud. Caught off guard, Goten tilted his body as the blast flew mere inches in front of him. As soon as the blast was gone, Zangya appeared next to the saiyan's head, her hands clasped together and jackhammered Goten in the face, sending the warrior to the ground.

Growling, Trunks grabbed his sheath and held it like his sword, charging his blue opponent. Attacking first, Trunks swung his sword which Zangya dodged by leaning backwards. Using the momentum from his swinging sword, Trunks spun around and smacked his sheath against the blue woman's face. Reacting immediately to his successful hit, Trunks thrust his sword at his Zangya, who barely managed to recover and caught the sword between her hands; palms holding the blade tightly. Once she had managed to gain a little control, the blue woman pulled the weapon from the saiyan and threw it away.

Growling again, Trunks hit her again with the sheath; grabbing the sheath with both hands as it completed its arc and then swung the sheath again. The blue woman was knocked into the wall, falling to the ground after impact.

Suddenly, a loud yell of frustration filled the room. Turning his attention from Zangya, Trunks say a very beaten up Bojack, pissed to the next extreme. Trunks smirked. Looked like Gohan was doing a number on him.

"That's it! I've had it!" screamed Bojack. "I'm done playing games! I'm going all out!"

Gohan chuckled. "I hope this 'all out' is a lot better than what you've shown me so far. I was getting bored."

Scowling, Bojack nearly attacked Gohan again but held himself back. There would be plenty of ass kicking later. Just as long as he was at full power.

Channeling his ki, Bojack concentrated as a green aura enveloped him. Suddenly, the pirate's body bulked up, his shirt torn from his body, revealing another scar on his chest. His skin changed from blue to a very light green as his orange hair took on a redder tint. Standing in only his white pants, Bojack laughed loudly. "Alright asshole, get ready for the beating of your life!"

Gohan dropped himself into a defensive stance. He could sense Bojack's power had increased dramatically but his speed and strength were still unknown. Time to see what this guy was made of.

Giving off a war cry, Bojack charged Gohan faster than he expected. One punch to the face was all it took for Bojack to knock Gohan off his feet. However, before the saiyan got very far, the large green man grabbed him by the leg and swung him around, spinning around in a circle before letting Gohan fly through the air and landing on the floor, skidding several feet.

As soon as Bojack had thrown Gohan away, Trunks charged the green space pirate hoping to catch him off guard. Unfortunately, Bojack saw the attack coming and immediately attacked the saiyan with a roundhouse kick before he arrived, hitting his opponent in the face. Trunks flew through the air till he crashed into the wall.

As Trunks lifted himself off the ground, shaking his head to clear away all the stars that were before his eyes, a pair of feet slammed into his side, knocking the wind out of him. As the young warrior flew through the air again, he managed to barely recover used his arm to push off the ground and land on his feet. Getting his bearings, he saw Zangya rushing at him to continue her attack.

Growling, Trunks pointed his hands at the ground in front of him and blasted it, kicking up smoke and dust. Quickly, he leapt high into the air and stretched his arms over his head. As the saiyan gathered his ki, he saw Zangya run through the smoke and stop, confused as to where her opponent had gone. Smirking, Trunks immediately formed his ki into a large golden ball. Time to finish off this girl once and for all.

However, just as he was about to launch his attack, Trunks caught Bojack charging him out of the corner of his eye. Damn it; he didn't have enough time to turn and use his Final Buster on the pirate in order to defend himself. As fear crawled into Trunks' eyes, he suddenly saw Gohan appear out of nowhere, his hands crossed and held above his head.

"Masenko Ha!" the older saiyan cried as he fired a large blast, colliding with Bojack head on. Quickly turning his attention back to Zangya, Trunks threw the Final Buster at her. Unfortunately, Zangya had been ready for him, clasping her hands together and held them below her waist. As the large ki ball got into range, she swung her clasped hands and spiked the attack like a volleyball. With the attack deflected, it raced straight into the roof, obliterating the ceiling in a fiery explosion.

Gohan growled. Damn this fight was tough. The saiyan had figured that Trunks and Goten would've been able to take Zangya out of the fight but the pirate was more persistent than he though. Then throw in Bojack using his full power and what used to be a cakewalk had become a lot more difficult.

"Hey Gohan, please tell me you have a couple more tricks up your sleeve," Trunks said as he floated by.

"Sorry Trunks but I'm running out of ideas," Gohan responded.

"Well what about Piccolo? Maybe he might have an idea."

Gohan didn't respond as he began talking to his resident Namek. (Well, do you have anything?)

_(Well, I would tell you to transform into the Oozaru but that's not an option on a spaceship)_ Piccolo responded. _(It doesn't seem like you're getting enough power and your speed has been rendered useless)_

(Okay, speed's out of the question) Gohan said. (If you have any technique that could give me a power boost then by all means tell me)

_(Hmmm, I think I have just the thing)_ the Namek replied. Soon, a bunch of instructions began working their way through Gohan's head. Looking through them, Gohan smirked. "Well, it's worth a shot."

Trunks looked at Gohan quizzically. "What's worth a shot? What did Piccolo tell you?"

"Trunks, I need you to hold Bojack and Zangya off me for a bit. Think you can handle it?" Gohan asked, looking at the saiyan.

Trunks eyes grew wide before giving a grimace. "I hope what ever you're doing is worth it," he grumbled.

Gohan smirked before drifting away and to the ground, immediately gathering ki. Trunks soon set down a few feet away from the older saiyan, ready to hold off the enemy.

Soon he saw Bojack walking towards the two saiyans at a casual pace, Zangya walking a bit behind him and to the right.

"So you two have a plan huh?" Bojack called out, watching with mild curiosity. "It's not like it'll help you. Zangya here is kicking your butt easily enough, so it doesn't mean anything."

Suddenly, Zangya raised her hand and fired a ki blast. Concentrating, Trunks gave out a yell as a blue shield raised up in front of him. The blast made contact with the shield but couldn't break through. As soon as the blast stopped, Trunks lowered the shield and was promptly rammed in the side by Bojack.

With Trunks out of the picture, the green pirate turned his attention to Gohan, who was staring at him with fear. He didn't have enough energy to use his technique and it looked like Bojack had been right. Smirking, the pirate readied himself to attack the saiyan.

Flipping through the air, Trunks recover and used his feet to stop his momentum, making contact with the glass observation window. Small cracks were made in the glass just as Trunks pushed off and dashed towards Bojack.

However, Trunks felt Zangya rushing in to attack him. Making quick adjustments, Trunks dodged the blue woman's punch and grabbed her arm. Swinging her around, the saiyan threw Zangya at Bojack.

Turning his attention to the out of control pirate, Bojack easily caught her in one hand; but it was that split second that Gohan took advantage of. Coming to the conclusion he wouldn't have all the power he needed, he still had gathered enough to make a difference.

Immediately, Gohan focused the gather ki on his body. Slowly his body began to expand as the saiyan grew taller and bulkier. In a matter of seconds, Gohan stood three times taller than Bojack.

Trunks looked on it awe. That had to be a Piccolo technique Gohan had just used. There was no way the saiyan would've been able to increase his size without the Namekian's knowledge.

Bojack stared up at the oversized saiyan, scowling with his teeth bare. Gohan, in turn, stared down at Bojack, his face emotionless. Moments passed until Gohan drew his leg back and swung it at the space pirate.

Holding Zangya to his chest, Bojack dashed backwards from the enormous foot. However, just as he landed on his feet, Gohan slammed his foot onto the floor, sending shockwaves and throwing Bojack off balance. Without hesitating, the saiyan extended his arm, the stretching appendage flying towards its target.

Bojack tried to dodge the attack, but was caught by his legs and dragged through the air, dropping Zangya to the floor. After covering several feet, the oversized hand slammed into the wall, crushing Bojack's legs as he cried out in pain.

Meanwhile, Trunks had been busy recovering his sword and sheath and at the present moment sheathing his blade and returning it to its place on his back. Smirking when he heard Bojack's scream of pain, Trunks watched the scene unfold. He'd let Gohan handle this until he felt it necessary to use his power.

As Gohan's arm retracted, Bojack felt to the ground. His face contorted into one of immense pain, the pirate felt his legs for the damage. Upon inspection, the green man found that only one of his legs was broken, although it was in two places. The other leg was in a less than ideal condition and he doubt it would be able to support his weight, especially in his current form. Struggling to get on his feet, Bojack leaned against the wall before floating into the air. If he couldn't fight with his legs, he'd have to take the fight off the ground.

Gohan watched as his opponent slowly recovered and take to the air. Finally, the oversized saiyan called out "Why don't you just give up? You can't win in your condition."

Bojack spat at him. "Shut up boy. I can fight you just fine."

Thrusting one of his hands out in front of him, the pirate gathered his energy as a bright green ball appeared in his hand. When he had the right amount of ki, Bojack yelled out "Grand Smasher!" as a large green beam fired from his hand.

Widening his eyes, Gohan barely had enough time to fire a ki blast, one with enough to stalemate the Grand Smasher. When both blasts met, Bojack's attack took the advantage and pushed all the way till it was stopped a few feet from Gohan. Thrusting his arm out with his other hand grabbing the wrist, he poured more energy into his blast; the oversized saiyan pushing the beam away till the beams were about midway between the two.

Trunks growled, his hand moving to draw his sword. Although the attacks were stalemated, he knew that Gohan couldn't hold on too much longer due to being surprised by how much energy Bojack put into his attack. However, before Trunks could move to help, he saw Zangya standing up preparing her own attack to help her comrade. Reacting instantly, the saiyan dashed towards the blue woman in an attempt to stop her plan.

Zangya caught the sight of Trunks racing towards her and she did the only thing she could do at the moment, turning her attack towards the charging saiyan and firing a ki ball at him.

Trunks easily leapt over the attack, drawing his fist back and throwing it at the pirate, who caught the punch and threw one of her own, which Trunks caught as well. With each one caught by the other, they tried to overpower the other and soon came to a stalemate of their own.

Meanwhile, Goten had finally managed to crawl out of the nice sized hole he was laying in. The last thing he could remember was Zangya jackhammering him in the face and him landing on his head. Damn it, he wouldn't hear the end of this from Trunks.

Looking around, the young saiyan immediately saw the ki blast battle between Gohan and Bojack along with Trunks and Zangya struggling against each other. Then his eyes went back to this brother, taking in his unusual size. When had Gohan learned to do that?

Shaking his head, Goten knew he had to help. His first option was to attack Bojack and give his brother the upper hand, though he wasn't sure if he could distract the powerful space pirate. His second option was to go help Trunks get rid of Zangya and then he and the other saiyan could help Gohan tackle Bojack. While the second option seemed promising, he wasn't sure if he and Trunks could finish the blue woman off. They hadn't succeeded yet so that was a cause for concern.

Growling, Goten started looking around the room to see if he could use anything at all to help either one of his comrades. It was then his eyes fell on the large observation window. Almost instantly, the young saiyan formed a plan. This was sure to get rid of those annoying pirates.

Completely turning his body to face the large window, Goten powered up a ki blast and immediately fired it at the glass. Instantly, the beam cut a hole through the glass, causing all the air to rush out into the vacuum of space. Before the suction got too strong, Goten used all of his speed to get himself away from the broken window and at the door of the room.

Just as the suction encompassed the room, Trunks and Zangya were immediately pulled off their feet, flying straight towards the glass; both of them letting go of their opponent. Trunks was fortunately close enough to the floor to punch it, creating a hole which he used to stop his momentum, hanging on to his self created hole. Zangya, however, wasn't as lucky as she flew towards the window and crashed right through it, screaming as she was pulled into the vastness of space.

Once Zangya had shattered the window, the suction increased immensely, causing Gohan and Bojack to stop their stalemate and focus on trying to not go flying into the abyss of space.

Bojack was fortunate enough to be close to the wall and managed to cling to it. Gohan, though, had slammed both of his gigantic feet into the floor, breaking it, and slowing the saiyan movement towards the open hole, leaning as far as he could towards the floor. As quickly as he could, he reduced his size to his original form and used ki blasts aimed at the floor to push him towards the far wall. As soon as his back touched the wall, Gohan immediately poured as much ki to sustain him against the powerful suction.

As fast as he could, the saiyan flew towards the doorway, seeing Goten pulling Trunks into the hallway. It seemed to take forever but Gohan managed to get to the entrance and was promptly grabbed by Trunks and Goten, the younger saiyans pulling the older one out of the suction.

Not wasting a second, the two younger saiyans each laid one of Gohan's arms around their shoulders and then took flight, flying down the corridor and gaining speed as they got further away from the suction; Gohan's heavy pants the only thing that Trunks and Goten heard outside of the winds from the room far behind them.

Continuing their escape, it was only by chance they ran into the carrier ship's hanger. After searching the room, they struck gold as they found an Earth made shuttle, boarding it immediately. Once they had the ship ready to go, they opened the hanger and flew out of the ship.

Still breathing heavily, Gohan looked at Goten, his fatigue evident on his face. "Goten, while that was a good way to get rid of our opponents, next time, make sure that isn't also a way to get rid of us too."

Goten nodded his head. "Sorry about that. I didn't think that Zangya lady would crash through the window that soon."

Gohan gave him a small smile. "Can't blame you for that but you might want to give us a heads up the next time you pull something like that."

Smiling widely, Goten answered "I'll be sure to do that next time."

Trunks snorted. "You better hope there's not another one of those. You should have your head examined for that."

"Hey! At least I got rid of those pirates!"

"Yeah, after they had forgotten about you. Didn't that Zangya girl knock you out?"

"No, it was the floor!"

"What ever you say Goten."

* * *

To dbzfan952: Nice, didn't know if I had people guessing till then or not. Thought it was given away when Goten mentioned getting ten times stronger. That's at least the first hint I gave. Lol, and don't worry about the humans dying. Everyone likes karma when it bites people in the ass, especially bad people. 


	20. Home

Due to a sudden bit of inspiration, thanks to ss death or ss talos, whichever you are, I have a question for you all. As I'm pretty sure everyone is guilty of something, and I just recently saw a rerun of 3rd Rock from the Sun somewhere, here is the question I've taken my sweet time in getting to: if you were guilty of one of the seven deadly sins, which one or ones would it or they be.

For people who don't know what they are, here are the seven deadly sins: Anger, Envy, Gluttony (overeating when unnecessary), Greed, Lust, Pride, and Sloth (lazy).

I hope to hear from ya'll about this and since ya'll be doing that, I'll give you mine with the next update. Now do what you came here to do and read this latest chapter. Probably started reading it anyways.

* * *

The sound of doors crashing against walls echoed throughout the main hall. A large room of white marble with a trail of red carpet leading to a staircase was the most prominent look of the room. Scattered randomly were rich paintings, green plants, oak tables, and various forms of furniture. Yep, this was home, sweet home.

At least it used to be for Videl. It had been a few years but the place looked pretty much the same since the last time she was here. Her dad must've gotten tired of buying everything in sight.

Walking into the room with Erasa and Tien on her heels, Videl called out "Hey everybody! I'm home!"

Almost immediately, maids and butlers came bustling into the room, overjoyed to see the master's daughter once again.

"Videl, how are you?"

"What brings you back to Earth Videl?"

"Is there anything I can get you Videl?"

And so on and so forth the servants asked to their boss' daughter. Videl smiled widely at the people she had left behind to live on Vegeta. It had been ages since she had seen or heard from them.

Suddenly, a loud voice filled the room. "Videl! You're home! Finally, my daughter has come back home!" an elated Hercule exclaimed. Walking towards the Satan girl, a large bulky man with a dark afro and mustache enveloped the tiny girl in a massive bear hug. He was wearing a brown training gi, white pants and black boots.

Watching the spectacle, Tien leaned towards Erasa and asked "So this is the hero Hercule?"

Erasa nodded and answered "Yep, that's him. Hasn't changed much since the last time I saw him."

Tien looked back at Hercule bewildered. How in the world did this human manage to take down a warrior race like the saiyans? His power level wasn't much from what he could sense, along with that afro. Did anyone still have that hairstyle?

Letting go of his daughter, Hercule smiled widely. "So Videl, what brings you to Earth?"

Videl brushed a couple strands hair from her face before answering. "Just felt like coming home for a bit. I really miss you and everyone else."

Hercule nodded his head before looking at Erasa and Tien. "And I see you brought one of your blond friends. Where's that other girl you usually hang around with?"

Videl looked at her father bewilderedly. What other girl was he talking about? The only girl she was friends with was Erasa. "Uhhh Dad, who are you talking about?"

"You know, that girl with the long blond hair and liked to wear boy's clothes. Seemed a little too muscular to be a girl. If anything, he seemed a little manish to me."

Erasa busted out laughing. "Vi-videl…he's talking…about Sharpner!" the blond exclaimed, bending over to hold her gut.

When realization dawned on her, Videl joined Erasa laughing. "No Dad…Sharpner's a guy," she managed to say in between laughs.

Hercule blinked before chuckling a bit. It was then that he eyed Tien. "So Videl, who's the bald guy with the weird eye?"

Finishing her laughter, Videl replied "This is my new bodyguard, Tien. I heard that there was an increase in pirate activity out in space and hired him to help protect me."

Hercule looked thoughtful before saying "That was a pretty good move there sweetpea." Walking over to Tien, the war hero held out his hand. "I'd like to thank you for watching out for my daughter."

Tien smiled as he shook the offered hand. "It was no problem. The least I could do since your daughter helped me out of a bind."

Hercule smiled and said "Well, you're welcome to stay in my house. I'll have one of the servants show you to a room. I believe Erasa knows what she's going to do."

"That I do," Erasa said smiling widely.

Just as Erasa had spoke, the maids and butlers had already jumped into action. Many of them left the main hall to prepare the bedrooms for the unexpected guests. When everything was set upped, they led the travelers to their chambers and helped them settle in.

* * *

"You wanted to see me Dad?" Videl asked upon entering her father's study. A desk and a couple bookshelves, along with a couch, lined the walls of the small room. Hercule was sitting in a chair in front of his desk and turned to look as his daughter announced her arrival. "Yeah, please sit down," the afro man said, indicating the couch next to the door.

Videl took her father's offer and sat down on the couch, looking at him with curiosity. Hercule just sat in his chair, facing Videl, never saying anything until "Videl, why don't you tell me the real reason why you're here."

Videl looked startled. She knew her father wasn't that bright of a man, but he did have his moments sometimes. This may well be one of those moments.

"What do you mean?" she asked, stalling.

Hercule looked his daughter in the eye, a very serious expression on his face. "Sweatpea, not once have you visited me since you left for Vegeta. You haven't even sent any mail except for the occasional 'I'm doing fine, don't worry about me' letter. Now you've decided to drop in out of the blue and you claim that you were homesick. I know there's something you're not telling me. So spill."

At the current moment, Videl was starting to suspect her dad was smarter than people gave him credit for. Normally, he wouldn't make this kind of connection to save his life, but there were times he could make something very logical. It looked like she wouldn't have a choice but to tell her father the recent events that had occurred.

"Dad, can you tell me what happened on Namek?" the Satan girl asked, this time startling the war hero. Of all the things he expected her to say or ask or do, this was definitely the last one.

"What do you mean?" he said, puzzled. "There was a rampant disease among the natives and we had to make sure it didn't infect anyone else. You know that."

Videl studied Hercules response. It seemed that he was in the dark as much as she used to be. Maybe it was a good time to enlighten him a bit.

"Do you remember that friend of yours? The one you made mayor of East Fort?" Videl asked this time.

Becoming lost as to where his daughter was taking this, Hercule still answered the question. "Yeah, Cash. What about him?"

"Well, you do know that he was on Namek during the epidemic, right?"

"I believe he was. Why do you ask?"

Videl took in a deep breath. Now was the hard part. Telling her father that his friend had been less than honest with him. "I came across some documents that pretty much said there wasn't an epidemic on Namek. The same documents said that Cash authorized a mass genocide of all the Namekian people."

Hercule started at his daughter in shock. He even began to visibly shake from this recent development. "And you have proof of these documents?"

Videl nodded. "I brought them with me. I'll go get them for you." Standing up, the Satan girl left the study in search of the Namek document. In the meantime, Hercule had hunched over, one of his large hands holding his head up as he stared at the floor. As much as he knew about Cash, he never suspected he would do something as bad as genocide. True, he knew of a few shady deals here and there but there was a huge difference between giving out a bribe and killing an entire race.

Soon, Videl returned with a folder in hand. She immediately gave the file to her father and sat back down of the couch as she watched him look over the file, seeing realization dawn on him. Looking up at Videl, Hercule asked "Where did you get this?"

"I got it in the records room at Cash's house. I hadn't believed that we were capable of genocide till someone showed me that file."

Hercule became suspicious then. "And who's this someone that showed you this file?"

Videl looked at the ground for a couple seconds before answering. "There was this new guy in the village that said humans weren't as good as we thought we were. He said we were the laughing stock of the universe because of how we denied any wrong doing, yet attacked everything in sight."

"And who was this new guy? How did you meet him?"

"I was heading out to get some groceries when the guy bumped into me. He didn't act like he cared that he knocked me down and I chased after him to show him who was boss."

Hercule chuckled a bit. The moment he heard she was knocked down, he knew his girl would try to beat up the perpetrator. "So how did he know about all this stuff?"

"It was because he had to live with this knowledge. He had known the whole truth since we humans had left Earth."

Hercule studied the girl on his couch. "So what was this guy's name?"

Videl responded with "His name was Gohan."

"Gohan? That doesn't sound like a human name."

Videl nodded her head, not at all surprised that her father had caught on. "He was a saiyan."

Hercule felt his blood freeze. A saiyan had been walking the same streets as his daughter had been and nobody had even suspected it. But why was a saiyan mingling around humans? It was very well known that a saiyan would kill any human short of a noncombatant. "Why was a saiyan in East Fort?"

Videl replied "He was looking for information. He wanted to do an attack on one of the military bases in the area and wanted some kind of idea on the best way to attack it. I had managed to capture him and tried to interrogate him and that's where he told me all this stuff. At first I didn't believe him; needing proof that what he said was true. So we snuck into Cash's place and he found that file for me. Sometime while I was looking at the file, he found what he wanted and we both tried to leave."

Hercule narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean by 'tried'?"

"We had tripped an alarm somehow and Cash had us surrounded. He then tried to kill us until Gohan used those light beams you told me about."

Hercule grimaced. If there was one thing about the war he remembered, it was those Kami forsaken light beams. Although it wasn't an uniquely saiyan trait, they were some of the best users of the technique. "At least those things did something right."

Videl looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that those light beams protected my daughter. I was never on the side that had those things but I'm glad they at least kept you alive for another day."

Videl was stunned by this. She had never heard of her father blatantly expressing his concern for her welfare. Her shocked look soon changed, a small smile crawling onto her lips. It looked like Gohan was a little useful after all.

Suddenly, Hercule sprung out of his chair. "Wait a minute! Cash threatened you?! Just wait till I get my hands on that creep! He'll wish he never spoken those words!"

"Dad, Dad, calm down," Videl said soothingly. "I don't think you'd be able to teach Cash a lesson. I'm pretty sure Gohan did."

Hercule blinked a bit. "What do you mean?"

"The last time I saw Cash, he was unconscious and Gohan was taking him to have some kind of justice done on him. I'm pretty sure Cash isn't alive anymore."

Hercule stayed in his pose for a bit before sitting back down. "I guess I'll let that saiyan kid take care of this. They do have that honor system of theirs."

Videl just continued to smile. Suddenly, a thought struck her. "So what are you going to do about this file?"

Hercule looked down at the folder as it lay on the ground. "I think I'm gonna do something about this. We need the truth to come out, especially after the recent battles."

Videl didn't protest her father's decision. Instead, she asked "So how are those campaigns going?"

Hercule let out a huge sigh. "As you probably know, we've had some problems with the Cold family. It's more of a stalemate right now so not much to talk about there. With Majiventa, we've completely pulled out."

Videl was startled again. "What? What caused the pull out?"

"If you knew anything about that planet, you knew that there was a guardian making sure we didn't get a foothold on the planet. Not too long ago, that guardian wiped out the entire fleet surrounding the planet. It's been ruled that the campaign is a failure and we won't be dealing with the planet. Many people were happy about that ruling as you can well imagine."

Videl nodded. However, she knew that wouldn't be the last time the Earth attacked that planet. If the government had it its way, then they'll be waiting for a weapon powerful enough to take the guardian down and attack again. It was only a matter of time.

* * *

Alarms sounded off, red lights flashing down the corridors and flooded all the rooms. Gohan rushed into the control, finding Trunks and Goten trying to figure out what in world was going on.

Gohan ran up behind them and inquired the reason for the alarm. Trunks turned his head to the older saiyan and answered him. "I have no clue. But if I had to guess anything, it would be that huge fleet of ships surrounding us."

Looking out the main window, he paled at the sight. Surrounding them were hundreds of battleships. However, it wasn't the number of ships that had Gohan scared. It was the design of them. The only time he had seen these ships designs were on Vegeta when he was little; before the invasion.

Trunks was staring at Gohan. He saw the look on his face and knew the saiyan knew something about those ships. How Gohan knew anything about these ships was beyond him but Trunks was sure that he'd be finding out pretty soon.

Goten also saw the look. But unlike Trunks, he was going to find out. "Hey Gohan, do you know anything about those ships?"

Goten's question caught the older saiyan off guard. Tearing his eyes from the scene before him, Gohan stared at his brother and Trunks, a lost look on his face. Both younger saiyans waited for his answer until they got the feeling that they wouldn't be getting one. Goten reiterated his question and this time Gohan gave them answer.

"Those ships are of saiyan design," the older saiyan told them, giving the two younger ones shocked expressions. "And as you probably already guessed, there hasn't been a saiyan ship made since the invasion. Plus, I'm pretty sure there weren't any saiyans left in space after the war."

Goten and Trunks continued to stare at Gohan until they turned to look at the saiyan fleet. Or to be more realistic, an unknown force with saiyan battleships.

Suddenly, the communication button lit up, catching the attention of the three saiyans. About a minute passed before Trunks leaned in to press it. It was a few seconds before a voice began speaking. "Unidentified vessel, please state your ship identification number and reason for entering Tuffle airspace."

All three saiyans' blood froze. This was not good. It was common knowledge that Saiyans and Tuffles did not get along. Both races had shared the planet Vegeta for a long time until a civil war broke out between the two. Needless to say, the saiyan defeated them and forced them to leave the planet. About a decade later, the war with the humans began. However, during that decade between the wars, saiyan children were taught about the grudge held between the two races. So at the present time, Gohan, Goten, and Trunks were in between a rock and a hard place.

"Unidentified vessel, I repeat, state your reason for entering Tuffle airspace," the voice said again, slightly annoyed. The saiyans continued to stay frozen till Trunks said "This is ship EA3902. We were passing on through and forgot about this region being in the possession of the Tuffles. We request that you allow us to continue our voyage without interruption."

The voice didn't reply for a few minutes. When the voice did decide to speak, it was a different one. A higher, shriller voice said "Ship EA3902, that ship identification number does not exist. I demand that you tell me who you are or I will order my fleet to fire all weapons on you."

Before Trunks could respond, Goten piped up, peeved at the order. "And who the hell are you to order us around?"

The high pitch voice let out a cackling laugh. "Okay, if that's how you want to play it, fine. I am King Baby, Ruler of the Tuffles. Now tell me who you are fool before I annihilate you."

At this present moment, Gohan, Goten, and Trunks were getting very annoyed from the sound of Baby's voice. No wonder the saiyans kicked them off the planet. Unfortunately, their pride would not let them back down from the Tuffle King's ultimatum and they fired back the last thing they should've said. "We are Saiyan warriors you Tuffle filth," Trunks said.

The comm. link went quite. "Saiyan warriors huh?" Baby said. "Well then my little monkey friends; it looks like I'll be annihilating you after all."

All three saiyans widen their eyes. Turning to look at each other, Goten said "I think we shouldn't have told him that."

Trunks nodded his head in agreement, along with Gohan. It looked like they were in big trouble right now. Some very big trouble.

Reaching to the control board, Gohan cut the comm. link and looked at the two younger saiyans. "Guys, get ready for the ride of your life."

* * *

To dbzfan952: Interesting theory, let me get back to you on it...when I figure out what he discovered lol. Just use your imagination as to how Bojack escaped. Some things are just best left to speculation. That and it's easier on me for other people to think about it instead of me... 


	21. Fray

Well, I should've expected this. Despite only getting a very small minority of people to answer my question, I'm gonna be a jackass and say it's all of you. That's how all them political polls are run and I shall take advantage of it.

So apparently we have quite a few lazy people here. Feels good to not move a finger unless you absolutely, possitively have to. I know, it's addicting.

And now I must tell you might sins: Anger, Greed, and Sloth. And I'm working on another one so I'll be having a majority of them very soon lol.

* * *

Hercule stormed down the corridor to the main room. A determined expression was on his face as he carried the file that his daughter had shown him the night before. Once Videl had left for her bedroom, the war hero had lorded over the documents contained within the folder, trying to see if there was anything that could've proved the damning evidence to be false, finding none. Positive that he held the truth, the real truth, in his hands, he headed straight for the capital building in Central City. He wanted answers for the deception that Gero had placed upon his people. 

Not pausing at the double wooden doors, Hercule swung them wide open, finding Gero sitting at his usual seat with the mysterious Nineteenth chair standing next to him. The way the tubby man stared at him sent cold shivers down the war hero's spine. But right now, that was the least of his worries. He had a mission at the moment.

"Ah, Hercule, what can I do for you today?" asked Gero, looking at the man curiously.

"I came to find out the meaning behind these documents," Hercule said, slamming said documents onto the table. Gero took one look at the file before looking back at the war hero.

"I don't see what the problem is," the old man said.

"Why don't you open it and take a look at it? I'm pretty sure you'll see the problem."

Gero let out a big sigh. "Hercule, I don't have the time for these shenanigans. I have a day's worth of work I need to take care of and that leaves me no time to look into you're perceived problems."

"You call being a murderer a perceived problem?" Hercule demanded, irritated with the elder man.

Gero's eyes widen from shock. "What are you talking about? I am no murderer."

"Then what do you call the Namekian Genocide then, huh?" Hercule countered, knowing he had Gero cornered.

If the Twentieth chair wasn't surprised, he was now. How did an idiot like Hercule get information like that?

Trying to cover, the old man said "I have no idea what you're talking about. You know very well there was an infection running rampant amongst them. They had to be quarantined for—"

"Bullshit!" Hercule shouted. "That file in front of you specifically says there was a genocide approved by our officials on Namek. And there's no way they would've done something like that without approval from the government on Earth."

Needless to say, Gero was startled. He hadn't expected the oaf to be this well versed in governmental affairs.

Looking over at Nineteen, he saw his pale associate was looking at him. Getting an idea, Gero said "Nineteenth chair, would you please leave me with Mr. Satan? I believe I need to have a private discussion with him. Please send the twenty first servant when you find him."

"Yes, Twentieth chair, I will see that is done," the man said before leaving the room, closing the doors behind him. Hercule continued to glare at Gero, his icy blue eyes boring holes in the elderly gentleman.

"Now then, tell me Hercule, what is it that you wish to know?" Gero asked as he folded his hands together on the table.

"I want to know what's going on. Why have you lied to your people about what's really been going on?" Hercule said, still glaring.

Gero looked down at the table before him, letting out a deep breath of air. "You want to know what's been going on with these wars?"

Hercule nodded his head. "Tell me everything."

"Very well. As you know, Earth isn't in the best shape to support and sustain the human race forever. The initial reason for expanding into space was to help relieve the planet of the extra stress placed on the planet and its resources because of human activity."

"So you just attacked other people so you could do that?"

"When you put it that bluntly, yes. But there is more to it than that. We couldn't just ask anyone if they could allow us to place settlements on their planet, nor did we need just a small plot of land. We needed a whole planet. The obvious choice was the Martian planet. However, we all knew that they wouldn't allow us the amount of land to even help relieve our problems. So we invaded them, gave the people a reason to support it, and we haven't looked back since."

Hercule looked on in shock. "Then what about the Plutonians? The Nameks?"

"Pretty much the same reason for Pluto. Though not as ideal as Mars, the Plutonians had perfected the technology needed to survive on planets too far away from the sun. We took the technology since they refused to allow us a chance to study it. Pretty much every planet after that was similar to Pluto or was close enough to a sun for us to inhabit. We didn't run into many sentient races until we came to Namek. By that time, we had a reputation of being war mongers. The Nameks were the only people that would even talk to us."

"And you killed them off despite their sincerity?" Hercule demanded, anger growing within him.

Gero shook his head. "No, that came later when it was determined we couldn't persuade the Namekian populous to relocate. Also, it was not a planet that was suitable for our needs, but it was a prime location for a military instillation. The Nameks became expendable when we came to our decision."

Hercule's fists were shaking. "Then what about the saiyans?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"They were one of the forces out there that could destroy all that we had created," Gero answered. "We were willing to avoid them and even sent delegates to assure them we meant them no harm. It was then that we discovered that the planet Vegeta was very suitable to our needs. Unfortunately, we didn't have a very good reason to attack...so we provoked one."

"What attack? What did you do?"

Gero had to hide his pleasure at the awe stricken war hero. The look on his face was almost priceless to the head of state. "There was an asteroid that the saiyans used for mineral mining purposes. We attacked it and let a few saiyans escape. You should know what happened after that."

Hercule's face took on a grim expression. "The Mercury Massacre."

The Mercury Massacre, as it was called, was an attack on a civilian ship carrying an expensive cargo that was still unknown to all but the owner. Because of the owner's influence in the government, he had an armed escort courtesy of the Earth military. That, however, was like placing a big target on the ship. A saiyan space force attacked the civilian ship and escort, killing everyone that held a weapon, which was practically everyone. The only survivors of that attack were a small handful of children and a couple mothers who had not wielded weapons. That soon led to a mass volunteering for the armed services, Hercule being one of the many who did. His father had been on that civilian ship and was killed for trying to fight back against the saiyan attackers.

Gero watched as Hercule stared into space. He could practically see the wheels turning inside the man's head as he thought back to that event. Suddenly, he saw something moving in the shadows behind the war hero. Smiling, the old man turned his attention back to the man before him. "So you see now? Had we done all of this with the public knowing, we never would have stood a chance at enacting any of it."

Hercule's fury returned quickly. "You monster! How could you? How could you sacrifice your own people for these acts of violence?"

Gero closed his eyes. "I see you still do not understand. However, I cannot waste anymore time on this matter." Looking at the file on the table again, a question came to his mind. "How did you come across this file anyways?"

Not expecting that question to come up, Hercule answered the inquiry hesitantly. "My daughter came across it on Vegeta."

"And you're daughter is still on Vegeta?"

"No, she arrived back home yesterday."

With a new twinkle in his eye, Gero said "I thank you for that piece of information. Now if you would, please leave. I don't wish to see you at the present moment…nor ever again."

Hercule was taken back by this. "What did you say?"

However, before he could move or Gero could answer, something wrapped around the war hero's throat and tightened, lifting the large man off the ground. Grasping the thing choking him, Hercule struggled with all his might, fighting for air as his legs thrashed wildly beneath him. Slowly, unconsciousness overtook him as his lungs begged for fresh air that would never come. When his body went limp, the thing around the dead body's neck loosened and dropped the corpse to the ground. Coming out of the shadows, Cell appeared, staring at Gero with emotionless eyes.

Gero looked back at him with the same emotionless eyes before the doors opened to reveal Nineteen. "Nineteenth chair, I want you to send the 11th ground platoon to Satan Manor. Kill everyone within the house, specifically the young Ms. Satan."

"Yes Twentieth chair," Nineteen said as he turned around and walked down the corridor.

"Why didn't you send me?" a reptilian voice asked the elderly gentleman. Turning to look at the lizard like creature, he replied "I rather not waste your time with such simple matters."

Cell grinned. "Only the top missions huh?"

"That's right. Now go back to your chamber. I'll send for you if I require your services again."

* * *

"Target in sight."

"All men are in position."

"Roger that. Move in on my signal."

Men in camouflage clothing and body armor stealthily surround the large, white manor. Nestled in the middle of the countryside, a few miles outside the newly named Satan City, Satan Manor stood in all of its glory. White stones were used as the house's outer wall, large wooden doors marking the entrance of the building. Windows had been placed at regular intervals all over the manor. Surrounding the place, a large garden covered a large radius around the building; flowers, bushes and trees being the majority. A white gravel driveway that led to a cul-de-sac in front of the house was the only things not covered with vegetation.

And at the present moment, the 11th ground platoon was using the vegetation to its advantage. Hiding behind trees and crawling through bushes, the soldiers crept towards the manor, just waiting to break in and complete their mission.

"Alpha, Beta, Delta, get ready to move. Gamma, Omega, Zeta, hold position until the first wave has entered the target's base."

As soon as the command had been issued, half of the men began approaching the white building, staying cautious the whole time. It didn't take long for the men to reach the building and begin infiltrating the house. Slipping through windows or simply entering through the front or back doors, the first wave disappeared into the mansion, the second wave beginning the next phase of infiltration.

* * *

Using her forearm to wipe away the sweat that accumulated on her forehead, Videl let out a deep sigh. It had been awhile since the Satan girl had done her early morning exercises, but she was still in peak condition. Staring at her old punching bag as it rotated in the air, evidence of its recent use, Videl smiled. She had fond memories of using the old bag and had sorely missed it after she left for Vegeta.

Doing a few light stretches, Videl began to wonder where her father was. She knew that he was off doing some kind of business but she hadn't seen him since the night in his office. Deciding to try and get her worries off her mind, the girl sat on the floor in the Indian style. Crossing her arms in front on her chest, Videl began a meditation to calm herself. However, that wasn't the only thing she was doing.

After running into so many space pirates on the way to Earth, Videl had finally got around to having Tien teach her some of his craft. They had spent the rest of the trip helping the Satan girl tap into her ki and learn basic ki manipulation. She had been especially thrilled when the three eyed man taught her how to use those light beams, or ki blasts as he called them. Now she knew how Gohan and the rest of his breed performed those tricks.

Pacing her breathing, Videl decided to practice one of her other newly found skills in ki sensing. Spreading her awareness about her, Videl took in all the different signals within the house.

So far she could sense some of the house servants out and about the manor, performing their duties no doubt. Then there was Erasa still in her room sleeping. Next were some unfamiliar ki signals running about the—"

Wait. Unfamiliar ki signals?

However, before Videl could confirm what she sensed, the sound of foot steps out in the hallway caught her attention. Looking at the door curiously, she soon found it being slid open, a strange man in camouflage standing in the doorway holding a blitz rifle.

The two people just stared at each other until the soldier quickly raised his rifle and fired at the Satan girl. Reacting fast, Videl maneuvered her legs till she was on the balls of her feet, slamming her right hand onto the floor and pushing off it, twisting her body to face the intruder as she moved, avoiding the beam as it struck her last location. Quickly, Videl raised her other arm and fired a ki blast at the man who jerked himself out of the doorway as the blast shot through it.

Immediately, Videl dashed towards the door, using her increased speed to get there within seconds. Pulling back her arm, her hand balled into a fist, the girl swung her fist, connecting with the soldier's face as he reentered the doorway. Bone broke with a sickening crack as Videl's fist struck, sending the man flying to the wall opposite the door; the body crashing into it and slumping to the floor.

Landing in the hallway, Videl ducked without hesitation, a blitz beam firing overhead. Spinning herself, Videl swung her leg and knocked the legs out from beneath her second attacker. As the soldier fell to the ground, the young fighter slammed her palm into the chest of the man, sending him flying down the corridor, skidding and rolling on the floor when he landed. Holding her position, Videl watched closely for any sudden movements from her opponents, rising onto her feet when she saw none.

After quickly checking to make sure the intruders were dead or unconscious, Videl ran down the hallway and headed towards Erasa's room. She wasn't sure how many other soldiers were in the building, but she was going to make sure none of them got to her best friend.

Turning a corner, Videl saw two more soldiers a few feet down the hallway, their backs to her. Using a burst of speed, Videl appeared right behind the men, gripping the sides of their heads and slamming them together. After cracking the men's skulls together, Videl pushed the limp bodies out of her way as she continued on her running to get to Erasa.

Dashing up a flight of stairs and down another hallway, Videl finally came to Erasa's room and just in time too. As she rounded the last corner, the Satan girl saw two more intruders about to open the blond girl's door, their rifles ready to fire in a moment's notice.

Without stopping her run, Videl raised her arm up, her index finger pointing straight out as she gathered her ki. "Dodon Ray!" the girl cried out as the thin beam fired from her finger.

Hearing the words being shouted out, the two soldiers turned to look at the girl and were met with the beam. The beam easily pierced the first man's body armor, tearing through him and then penetrating the second man in the same fashion. Both of the men fell to the ground shortly after being shot.

Sliding on the floor, Videl came to a halt right outside Erasa's door, opening it and slamming it shut behind her. Upon looking around the room, Videl found the blond girl was just waking up, wiping the sleep from her eyes. Not taking anymore notice, the Satan girl grabbed the first thing she could get her hands on, a desk, and slid it in front of the door, barring it from the inside.

"Videl, what's going on?" the sleepy blond said, still waking up.

"We got some intruders running around the place. I don't know what they want but you and I are going to stay here till we're sure they're gone," Videl answered, staring at the door.

"What? What do you mean we have intruders?"

Videl glared at her friend. Did the girl have to be this blond this early in the morning?

* * *

Unleashing a war cry, Tien chopped at his latest opponent, falling him with that one blow.

Throughout the main hall, the bodies of several soldiers littered it. After doing some light meditation, Tien had immediately felt the power levels of the men surrounding the mansion. After waiting for them to set up and make their first move, the body guard had headed directly for the main hall and arrived just as the men began their infiltration. The initial fire fight had been a little difficult for the man but Tien prevailed nonetheless. Sensing the house for anymore intruders, Tien found five more kis still roaming about and two of them were very close to Erasa's—"

Never mind. Looked like Videl got to them first. So that left three more soldiers running around. Piece of cake.

Crossing his arms in front of him to form an X, Tien concentrated his ki and soon split it three different ways. His form began to blur as two bodies separated from Tien and soon all three forms became clear. Without speaking a word, the three Tiens ran down separate halls, each following a different ki signal.

Minutes later, the three Tiens met back at in the main hall, each dragging a dead soldier. Once again silently, the Tiens merged back into each other. The three eyed man took a deep breath. It had been awhile since he had to use that technique; it looked like he'd have to use it every once in awhile to make sure he didn't fall out of practice with it.

Stretching himself a little, the bodyguard began walking towards Erasa's room. He could tell that both of his watches were in there and he'd have to tell them the coast was clear. Otherwise, the two would stay holed up in the room until further notice.

Hmmm, actually, that wasn't a bad idea. Maybe he could grab a drink or something before he told them to come out. Though he wasn't a big drinker, he did appreciate a glass or two every once in a while.

And presently, that drink was starting to look very good right now.

* * *

To dbzfan952: Thanks. Although people like portraying Hercule as an idiot, which he can be, I think it's more naivete. He doesn't know about aliens and space tyrants and all; he's just a guy who stumbles upon it and isn't sure what to make of it all. Though, I have been guilty of making him an idiot lol. And nope, I will never give them a break. It's so much fun to make everything go wrong lol. 


	22. Take It

Hey everyone. Just wanting to clear a few things up since I keep having the same question asked over and over. Apparently people have been wanting to have an understanding of how strong everyone is, power levels and such. And my answer to that is anything you want them to be. Instead of having someone spouting off how they're the strongest in the universe or having the saiyans relying on the super saiyan transformation for every single battle, I just wanted to do things a bit different.

But for the sake of a starting point, just figure that at the beginning of the story, the people that mattered were about as strong as Vegeta and Nappa were when they arrived on Earth. Just factor in a saiyan's special trait of getting stronger after every battle, no matter how small, and you have a basic idea on where everyone else is. Though the fusion obviously was a big power boast. But just say that everyone isn't the next destroyer of the universe. Kinda gets a bit ridiculous when every single person in the universe can destroy it by farting on it. If that was the case, I would've destroyed countless planets and suns by now. Not that I would but you always have to have your leverage in some form or fashion.

Hopefully that answers that question.

And as a heads up to all of ya'll faithful readers, this is mostly a filler chapter. Just something to set the stage for the bigger and better things. I just couldn't find a good way to introduce them or work them into any chapter, so I gave them one. Simple, ney?

* * *

Since he was a young kid, Gohan was always taught that the universe was two sided. One side was good, the other side bad. From that concept, everything could be classified along those lines. At the present moment, Gohan could see the good and bad sides of his situation. 

The good side: he and his comrades were making great time, covering all the lost ground they had accumulated along their journey due to the stops on Majiventa and by Bojack.

The bad side: he had the whole Tuffle military hot on his heels and they didn't look like they'd be giving up anytime soon.

For the last couple days, he, Goten, and Trunks had to keep watch for any Tuffle ship trying to sneak up on them. They had barely managed to escape the main fleet but that didn't mean they had given up. Many scout troops had been sent out to hunt them down and finish the job the main fleet had started.

Looking out the main window, Gohan saw a large asteroid field. If what the computer said was accurate, the planets Mars and Earth were on the other side. Perfect. They could fly right through the field and hopefully come out with a direct path to Earth.

Suddenly, the ship's alarm went off. Checking the radar, Gohan immediately saw a huge Tuffle force coming up from behind. This was bad. Not only was he about to enter an asteroid field, but he was going to have to go through it at a very high speed.

Oh joy.

Seizing the controls, the saiyan launched the ship directly into the floating rock field. With the rockets at full power, Gohan flew through the field, narrowly dodging all the floating rocks.

Suddenly, light beams came zooming passed the ship, destroying all that the laser touched. Crap. The Tuffles were firing at them now.

Eyeing a very large meteor, Gohan flew the ship right at it, turning at the last second to avoid crashing. Apparently a few Tuffle ships hadn't been able to react as fast as they rammed into the asteroid's side, exploding upon crashing.

Fleeing from the oversized rock, Gohan flew at several more of the large meteors, always dodging them at the last second, and leaving his Tuffle pursuers to crash into the obstacle. How that same trick seemed to work on them was beyond the saiyan, but he wouldn't complain; what ever it took to get rid of those persistent bastards would be used to the maximum.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Gohan cleared the field and continued his full speed flight to put some more distance between him and his Tuffle pursuers.

Damn, he needed a better day job.

In the other room, Trunks and Goten were sprawled across the floor. Everything that wasn't bolted down or connected to the walls was thrown all around the place. Looking up from his spot on the floor, Trunks asked "Was that Gohan driving?'

Goten kept his head on the ground but answered nonetheless. "I think so."

"Remind me to not let him drive again. I don't care if he's dodging Tuffles; this last time was just too much."

"Uh huh," was all Goten said. Staring up at the roof, the saiyan finally said "Do you think you could do better?"

"I'm pretty sure I could. Why?"

"Cause the last time you tried to outmaneuver the Tuffles, you nearly got us shot down."

"Well, I wouldn't have if someone wasn't trying to backseat drive the whole time."

"Trunks…you were the only person in the room."

* * *

Gero stared at the recent reports incredulously. This couldn't be right, it just couldn't be. It was impossible.

Yet, the plain white paper with black ink told him something different. The force at Majiventa had been eliminated. But not just eliminated, completely wiped out.

How? How could something like this have happened? He didn't need this right now. Just as the Sixteenth chair had claimed, the people were getting restless from the endless wars. And with this latest set back, there was no way he could send a new force over without retaliation from the masses.

Putting the documents down, Gero turned his attention to another report. This one too held bad news. The forces he had fighting against the Cold Family were slowly giving up ground. At first it had seemed the Earth had gotten the upper hand, but then the Colds took it away. With his generals unable to stop the family's force, the military had to give up more ground than Gero was comfortable with.

Where had everything gone wrong?

Rubbing his temple out of frustration, the world leader let out a huge breath of air. Everything was starting to backfire. He couldn't afford to be losing face like this. He needed something that could restore the people's faith in him so he could continue his reign, or at least put someone that would allow them self to be manipulated by him.

Suddenly, the door swung wide open, a messenger dashing in. Looking up at the young man, Gero could see something was wrong. Before the elderly gentleman could say anything, the messenger spoke.

"Sir, we have an emergency."

His eyes widening, Gero responded "Emergency? What emergency?"

"We have just detected an unknown spacecraft heading this way with a large fleet chasing it," the messenger answered.

Completely ignoring the unknown ship, Gero put all his attention on the large fleet. "What kind of fleet is it and who's behind it?"

The messenger took in a deep breath before answering. "From what our intelligence can gather, the large fleet is full of battleships. We believe that the force's origin is that of the Tuffles."

Gero looked away to quickly wrap his brain around this news. This was almost perfect. What better way to rally the people's support than defeating an invading force that was making a beeline for Earth? He just had to make sure the force was on its way to Earth first and then he could do what ever it took to fight them.

"So is this force heading straight for Earth or will it not even make it here?"

"Our intelligence shows that the large force is heading straight for us."

Superb. Now he just needed to make the public aware of this and he would have full power to take that force out and restore his support.

"I want you to make an announcement to the people about this," Gero stated as he formulated his plan. "Get the space forces we have available to prepare for launch. The moment the people cry out for protection, we launch the ships and defeat this force. Understood?"

"Yes sir," the messenger said before quickly leaving the room. Gero began rubbing his hands together. This was almost too good to be true. Finally some luck would be coming his way.

* * *

Passing through the crowd with little difficult, Raditz worked his way towards Broly's office. He had just gotten back from a mission and had been summoned immediately by the head saiyan. For all that traveling he had just done, this better had been good. 

Finally reaching the door, the guards immediately opened the doors, allowing the shaggy haired saiyan to enter. Upon entering, Raditz found the room less crowed then usual. All the politicians were missing, leaving only Broly's sitting figure. "I see you've finally returned," the saiyan greeted.

"What's this about Broly?" Raditz asked. He wasn't in the mood for chit chat at the moment.

"Straight to the point I see. Good. I need a good man to head a very important op and I thought you were the best man for the job."

Raditz sighed. "And when do you want to get this operation to commence?"

"You have a couple days to rest. I think you'll be taking advantage of them."

Raditz didn't say a word, nodding his head and turning to leave. However, before he got to the door, he turned around towards Broly. "Is it just me or is this room a little empty?"

Broly chuckled. "Seems like my 'friends' didn't want to 'hang out' with me anymore. I guess they didn't want to go on anymore missions."

Raditz grinned. It looked like things had changed since he was last here. Finally Broly found a way to get rid of those vultures. Maybe things would run a lot smoother this way.

* * *

A ki blast exploded, destroying everything in the vicinity. Soldiers cried out as they were consumed by the flames. Looking on as the humans ran around, being slaughtered by the incoming ki blasts, Raditz scowled. This was the mission Broly had sent him on?

The sound of someone approaching him caught the saiyan's ears. Not even looking, Raditz addressed the man. "How are things going with you Nappa?"

The bald headed saiyan replied "Bored. Seems like the humans aren't putting up much of a fight anymore."

Raditz aimed his hand and fired a ki blast, the explosion consuming its target. "They didn't put up much of a fight in the first place. Only when they got their hands on those grenades did they become a challenge."

Nappa responded "You have a point there. But even before then, they put up a better fight then these slugs."

"Sorry, didn't notice," Raditz said. Looking around, his eyes spotted something. Walking over towards it, he saw what appeared to be a scrap of metal lying in a pile of rubble. Touching it, the saiyan discovered the metal wasn't like any he had felt before, by saiyan or human creation. Pushing the rubble off of it, he soon discovered a filing cabinet, its contents spewing from inside it. Multicolored folders laid on the ground harmlessly next to the metal container.

"What'd you find there Raditz?" Nappa asked, stopping behind the smaller saiyan.

"These look like the folders that contained those documents my nephew stole. I'm curious if they would tell us anything on what's going on with the humans."

"Well, no use reading them in the middle of a battlefield. Might as well take them back to the sanctuary."

Raditz turned to look at the bulky saiyan. "That's the smartest thing I've ever heard you say."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

* * *

After bringing the files back to the sanctuary, and finding some of the politicians in hiding, they had finally found a use for the dirty old men. They had spent a full two days reading through all of the documents, trying to find something that could be useful but not uncovering anything really important. Things like base repairs that could be exploited during attacks or when new shipments of blitz rifles would be delivered. However, there was one thing they managed to find that sent the old men running to Broly.

Slamming the door open to Broly's room, the old saiyan exclaimed through heavy pants "I think we found something."

Broly cocked his eyebrow at the man. "And what did you find?"

Catching his breath some, the saiyan replied "The humans are doing a huge troop exchange. They're bringing in new troops to replace the older ones."

"And this is important because?" Broly said, not very enthused.

"The exchange involves a third of the humans' force."

Broly flew out of his seat, the chair crashing to the ground behind him. Leaning forward on the desk with his hands supporting his weight, the saiyan looked at the old man. "A third?"

The old saiyan nodded his head. "Yes, they'll be doing the exchange at the end of the week."

Broly looked down at the desktop. This was almost too good to be true. If they attacked that exchange, they could easily eliminate a third of the troops on Vegeta and a good chunk of the humans' reserves. Who knew? The rest of the military could surrender if this mission was successful. Being undermanned and spread so far apart between the bases. The remaining troops might think it's hopeless to continue occupying the planet.

"End of the week, right?" Broly asked, looking back at the politician.

"Yes sir. What are your orders?"

"Assemble the whole populous, I have an announcement to make and volunteers to gather."

* * *

To chris: Thanks, I tried to make this as original as possible. Seeing the same fanfic was getting boring, so why not something new? I hope I answered your question on power levels up above. If you have anymore, just let me know. 


	23. Suffocate

Well, good news for you SOL fans; I've finally gotten my butt in gear to write the sequel. I already had some parts written but now I'm doing more work on it so it's somewhat in decent condition. However, I won't be posting it until I'm done with this story that you're obviously planning on reading. Otherwise you wouldn't be here...I think. Anyways, just wanted to get out a shout out to all of you faithful readers.

And now...I think I'll shut up.

* * *

Each man watched their screen as time passed by. The ship was on full alert and each crew member was at their battle station, ready for anything that would rear its ugly head. Reports from Earth had informed them and several other ships that an invading force was on its way. Rushing towards the coordinates chosen as the front lines, about forty other ships had joined them, ready to protect the Earth.

Minutes continued to slip away. Was there a force coming here? What if the coordinates were wrong? Maybe the invaders decided to back down instead. Or they turned to go in another direction. Nervousness was running rampant throughout each and every ship.

Suddenly, the radar detected something. As the soldier in charge of the radar looked at it, all he could see was that one ship was heading this way. Was this the force that they were alerted about?

Sudden, more dots appeared on the screen. It looked like hundreds of them were there. So this was the force they were notified about.

"Captain, enemy dead of ahead," the man called out. The captain turned his head towards the soldier.

"How many are there son?" he asked, voice full of authority.

"There appears to be many of them. Definitely more than our defenses can handle. Shall we call in some reinforcements?"

The captain thought for a moment before giving his order. "Radio in the second line. Tell them to send more ships. An additional fifty should do fine."

"Yes sir," another soldier said before heading off to complete the order. The rest of the crew continued to sit in silence, waiting for the next order to be given.

Suddenly, the communications officer spoke up. "Sir, we are receiving a comm. link with one of the ships. Shall I patch it in?"

"Affirmative," was the captain's response.

A moment later and suddenly a voice was projected over the speakers. "Mayday, mayday, this is Ship EA 306. We are under distress and request assistance, over," a young man's voice said.

The sound of weapon fire could be heard in the background as the voice went silent. The captain didn't hesitate a second. "Ship EA 306, this is the Battleship Red Star. You have permission to seek refuge. We will cover you as you flee to safety, over."

The voice replied instantly, "Thank you so much. May Kami favor you in battle." The comm. link shut off after that.

"Alright men, we're going in. We have a civilian ship in distress and we're gonna bail 'em out. Our reinforcements will back us up," the captain proclaimed to his crew. A cheer roared through the crew, the soldiers getting pumped for battle. This was what they had volunteered for.

Moments later, the ship began to move forward, heading towards the incoming force. Following the battleship's lead, the other ships began to move as well. Soon the ship could make out the lights of many ship weapons being discharged. "Prepare the ship's weapons," the captain order.

The closer the ship flew towards the battle. The more anxious the crew became. It was almost time.

Suddenly, they could make out a small ship, somewhat damage, hauling ass. Behind the ship, a large force of battleships began to appear.

"When that ship passes us, I want to fire all weapons," the captain announced. Many "yes sirs" came in answer. Shortly, the small ship flew by the battleship, giving the crew its cue.

Immediately, the ship began to discharge its weapons, the blitz beams flying through space. As the beams began to fade, lights began to shine in the distance, signs of something exploding. The ships next to them and down the line also began to fire their weapons, the Red Star firing again as well. Soon the lights of many explosions lit up the horizon.

However, just when it seemed like nothing would happen, beams from the enemy came flying back. A few ships were destroyed, exploding into balls of flames, while others only took minimal damage.

"All units, fire at will!" the captain roared as the ship began to fire back.

Meanwhile, the small ship that the Earth's forces had saved was enjoying the sudden calm it felt.

"May Kami favor you in battle?" Trunks asked at the brink of laughter. Never before had he heard Gohan use such words. It was too hilarious to pass up the opportunity to laugh at the saiyan's expense.

So he laughed his head off.

With Goten.

Gohan turned his head to glare out the two hysterical saiyans. After all of this business on Earth was concluded, he was gonna teach these two young ones a lesson. Oh yes, they would learn some respect.

Suddenly, the radar blipped, stopping the saiyan's laughter as they straighten up in their seats. Soon after, a larger fleet flew by them to join the battle that was occurring behind them. Slowly letting their breath out, Trunks finally said "Well, at least you finally made use of those humans."

Gohan let out a laugh. "Funny, I could've sworn I heard that humans couldn't be of use to anything once."

"Well, who ever said that hadn't met you Gohan," Goten said grinning from ear to ear.

"Remind me to tell that to Raditz. I'm sure he'll appreciate it," Gohan said as he looked forward. A serious expression soon crossed his face. "And we're almost there."

Trunks and Goten looked out the window and saw their objective: Earth. It was once said to be a very lovely planet; covered in blues, greens, and whites. Now though, it looked more grey, the blues and some white still showing.

Keeping their pace they flew straight for the planet. Before them, they watched as the planet grew bigger and bigger until it encompassed their whole viewing window. As they looked on at their target, the radar picked up another ship flying towards them. Checking the radar, Gohan saw that the ship was flying at them, headed towards the planet. If they kept at their current trajectory, the ships' paths would eventually intersect. Speeding up, Gohan wanted to get to the planet first, not wanting to risk a last minute encounter with any human ship.

Surprisingly, the other ship adjusted its course and speed to once again head straight towards the saiyan ship. Gohan frowned. What was going on here?

After a few more attempts to avoid the impending collision, each try being thwarted, Gohan swung his head around to look at Trunks and Goten.

"Guys, brace for impact! We gonna get hit!" he yelled.

Mere seconds after Gohan said those words the ship was slammed into by the other ship. Jerking violently, the three saiyans were thrown from their seats, crashing into anything in their path. From the left side of the room, the wall caved in on itself as the nose of the other ship broke through it.

Once the aftereffects of the crash settled down, Gohan leapt to his feet pissed. He had had it up to here with everything that had happened on his way to this miserable planet and now he wanted to take his frustrations out on the first person he saw.

Storming over to the ship's nose, he slammed his fist into it, puncturing the ship's hull. Piece by piece, the saiyan tore the wall apart till there was a hole big enough to walk through. Without even looking to see if the other two saiyans were okay, Gohan stepped into the opening.

Watching with wide eyes, the youngest saiyans were astonished. Never had they seen Gohan this mad. It was extremely rare if he had ever lost his cool. And now, Trunks and Goten were offered an opportunity to watch their comrade unleash his fury at someone. It was almost too good of a chance to pass up.

Scrambling onto their feet, the two saiyans ran after the eldest saiyan, catching up to him moments later. They were sure to keep quiet because of Gohan's silent fury. They had no intent on attracting that disaster.

Picking up a familiar ki, the saiyans traveled down corridors, passing every single door they encountered. It was starting to bug the younger two why the ki was so familiar. Though irritated, they kept quiet. Gohan was still in his dark mood and didn't seem to care if that ki was familiar or not. He just wanted to beat the living hell out of them and be done with it.

Finally, they stopped at one of the doors. Instead of opening it the normal way, Gohan kicked the door off its hinges, the door crashing to the ground with a huge dent that exhibited the force behind the saiyan's kick.

The room wasn't a very big one. It appeared wider than it did long. The wall opposite was yet another large window looking out to the planet beyond it. The room itself was made of wood, a contrast to the metal throughout the ship. The remaining walls were colored black or some other very dark color, a red trim marking the corners between the walls and roof. A crossbar of metal pipes were the only things metal in this room. Dividing the window into several rectangular pieces, the red colored bars went from one side of the window to the other and from the roof to the floor.

And standing in the middle of this room was none other than Bojack.

Standing in only his white pants, his arms crossed over his light green chest, the pirate smirked at the saiyans. "I finally found you," he said smugly.

A look of hatred wrote itself on Gohan's face. What was the deal with this guy? Why wasn't he dead yet and what did it take to kill him? The saiyan began to growl the longer he looked at the green man.

Trunks and Goten just stared at the man bewildered. Hadn't they beaten this guy already? Twice? Why was he here of all times? Couldn't this wait?

"You know, it took me awhile to find you three. It wasn't easy I'll admit," Bojack said. "And you know? I finally figured out how you've been able to defeat me."

"Oh? And how's that?" Gohan said through clenched teeth.

Bojack smirked. "You haven't been beating me. You've just been blowing holes in the ship and hoping that space would take care of me. While I'll admit you learned a couple new tricks the last time we met, but this time…you won't have the option of blowing me out into space."

Suddenly, Bojack turned his body around and aimed his hand at the large window. Gathering energy, he fired a ki blast at the glass, creating a large hole in it as the edges of the glass melted. However, instead of a sudden suction of air escaping into the vacuum of space, nothing happened.

With his look of hatred soon becoming amazement, Gohan stared at the large hole. How was this possible? Shouldn't they be flying through space right now?

"I bet you're wondering what's going on," Bojack said. Looking back at the surprised saiyans, he crossed his arms over his chest again. "This ship has a force field function that keeps the air of the ship inside the ship, just in case something like that happens. Very remarkable, don't ya think?"

Gohan straightened out his posture. "Goten, Trunks, I want you two to go to the ship's control room. Pilot the ships to Earth."

Both saiyans looked at Gohan in puzzlement. "And how do you think we'll be able to pull that off?" Trunks said. "Both ships aren't in the necessary condition to enter the atmosphere."

"I don't care. Crash the ships into the planet. We're gonna land on Earth no matter what," Gohan replied.

Neither saiyan could think of a response to this. Finally giving up protesting the decision, Trunks and Goten headed out of the room, Goten hanging back a little. "You kick this guy's ass, you hear me?" the young saiyan said.

Gohan turned to look at his brother, giving him a small smile. Raising his arm up, he gave him a thumbs up and then turned his attention back to Bojack.

"You know that you don't stand a chance against me," Bojack said as he moved into a fighting stance.

Getting into his own stance, Gohan responded "You're a dead man Bojack. I'll see to it personally that you will be."

As the two fighters stared each other down, neither making the first move, they could vaguely feel the sudden movement of the ship as it began the last leg of the journey to Earth. Despite this, both fighters continued to wait for the other's first move.

Then at once, both fighters leapt at each other, letting out war cries. As the warriors neared each other, Gohan dropped towards the ground, sliding on it, attempting a slide tackle. Bojack leapt out of the way, twisting his body around and firing a ki blast at the sliding saiyan.

Gohan batted the blast away and countered with one of his own, which Bojack once again jumped out of the way. This time, the pirate charged at the saiyan as he was getting back to his feet, kneeling on the ground.

As the green man threw a punch, Gohan blocked it and immediately countered with a punch of his own, hooking Bojack in the face. As the man stumbled backwards, Gohan unleashed a flurry of punches, ending the barrage with a backhand that sent Bojack into a wall.

Regaining his balance once his feet hit the floor, Bojack spread his arms out to either side of him, gathering his ki. Soon, green balls of energy appeared in the space pirate's hands.

"Galactic Buster!" Bojack cried out as he thrust his arms in front of him, the twin ki balls becoming one before it launched itself out Gohan.

Gohan easily danced out of the way of the large attack as it created a second, much larger hole in the window, flying out into the recesses of space.

As soon as Gohan was ready, he charged at his opponent, throwing a roundhouse kick at the green man's head and connecting. Bojack once again crashed into a wall, falling to the ground and breathing hard, his head throbbing with pain. How the hell did this weakling get so strong? It was almost mind boggling. His speed was overwhelming, completely different than the last time they fought.

As Gohan stared his opponent down, anger still running rampant in his system, he sent a message to Piccolo. (Looks like that bonding thing you've been doing this whole time finally paid off)

The saiyan heard a dry chuckle. _(No problem Kid. It was either this or getting our butt whooped every time we got in a fight)_

(Well then, just sit back as I hand our little friend here his ass)

_(Better make it quick. You don't have as much time as you think)_

Taking a slide glance at the window, Gohan nearly cursed. They were moving much faster than what he thought they would be. He was gonna have to finish this fight pretty soon if he wanted to be somewhat prepared for the impact with the Earth's atmosphere.

However, while Gohan had his attention at the window, Bojack had recovered enough to launch another attack, nailing the saiyan with a vicious uppercut.

As Gohan seemed to float in midair defenseless, Bojack used the same hand he had used to uppercut his opponent and grabbed the saiyan by his armor strap. Pulling towards him, he raised his knee up and kneed Gohan as he flew right into it.

Opening his mouth as spit flew out of it, Gohan recovered quickly and grabbed a hold of Bojack; his right arms wrapping around the raised leg and left arm securing the arm holding him. Leaning back, Gohan firmly planted his feet on the ground and lifted Bojack into the air. Before the space pirate could react, the saiyan threw him across the room towards the gapping holes in the window. Managing to recover in time, Bojack landed on his feet, skidding a couple more feet before coming to a stop.

Without hesitating, Gohan fired a ki blast from his mouth at Bojack, who in turn crossed his arms in front of him to block the attack. Once the blast had dissipated, Bojack immediately saw his opponent right in his face, his fist connecting right into the pirate's face.

As Bojack stumbled backwards, Gohan landed back on the ground and pivoted his foot to launch a side kick at the large opening the pirate had left around his chest. His foot successfully hit the target and threw the space pirate straight through the gapping hole in the window.

Before Bojack could react to try and get back into the ship, Gohan twisted his body to where he was facing the hole with his arms raised and his hands crossed by his forehead. "Masenko Ha!" the saiyan shouted as he quickly gathered his ki and launched his attack, nailing Bojack and sending him into the Earth's atmosphere.

As Bojack flew further away from the ship and into the atmosphere, slowly suffocating from the lack of air, his vision soon took on a reddish tint as he felt his body beginning to heat up to dangerous levels. Soon enough, he could feel his skin burning off his back and igniting into flames. Bojack couldn't even muster the willpower to scream as pain flooded throughout his body. His vision became completely red, followed by black as his body was consumed in flames.

Gohan watched as Bojack burned up in the atmosphere. It was about time that guy died. Soon the whole ship jerked, throwing him off balance. Regaining it, Gohan soon saw the room he was in heating up and becoming a tint of red. Quickly deducing that that was not a good sign, he left the room fast before he also shared Bojack's fate. As the saiyan hurried down the corridor, he felt the tremors of the ship as it punctured the atmosphere. Soon, Gohan gave up trying to get to the control room as he steadied himself against the wall.

This was going to be a very rough landing.

* * *

To Dragongirl: Lol, I got ya. Well, both characters will be on Earth at the same time, so they're gonna have to run into each other at some point. 


	24. Spleen

At the present moment, Videl was not a happy camper. 

Nope. Nuh uh. Not at all.

After the attack at her father's manor, it was decided the group of three should leave, so as not to endanger the household. Making sure to leave a note for her father when he returned from his business, the three left the Satan house. To this, Videl had no objections to.

It was Tien saying they should walk the whole way to their destination that was really what had her irritated.

When they had made their plan to leave, a summer house in the middle of nowhere was the location Tien wanted for them to hide out, at least until the military was finished looking for them.

Trudging through the woods with her bodyguard way out in front of her and Erasa way out behind her due to her not being used to such travel, Videl wallowed in her dark mood. Why couldn't they have taken a jet or something? Yeah, she could understand flying wasn't the best option at the moment but walking? Why not a car or airjet?

Tien came to a stop about a hundred yards away. He seemed to be looking around the area, searching for something. It was this searching that allowed Videl and eventually Erasa to catch up to him and have a very well received pit stop. However, their break didn't last very long.

"Okay girls, there's a trail that will get us up that cliff in front of us. If we can get to the top of it before sundown, we'll be at the cabin in no time," Tien said, a hint of enthusiasm in his voice.

However, Videl and Erasa didn't take that news very well. "Let me get this straight," Videl said, "you want us to climb all the way up that cliff so we can save a little time? Why couldn't we have taken an aircopter or something?"

Tien shook his head. "That would make too much noise and we don't want to draw attention to ourselves. Why else do you think we've been walking the whole way?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe cause you're nuts?" Videl replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Tien took in a deep breath. "Videl, if you want to get any where with you training, this should help you. You do want to kick that saiyan's ass, right?"

Videl's eyes narrowed. "Hell yeah I do, but this is something Erasa isn't used to. Can't you tell that she'll have trouble with that?"

Tien looked at the overly tired blond. "It's not like it'll hurt her. She could use the exercise."

Erasa's eyes flashed dangerously. "And what does that mean?" she said threateningly. "Are you saying that I'm out of shape or something?"

Tien looked backed at the steamed Erasa. "It means that you're gonna climb that cliff whether you want to or not. I suggest we get started now before it becomes too dark."

Videl growled out of frustration. "Look here buddy, we are _not_ going to be climbing anything today, got it? We are going to set up camp down here and try to get up that cliff tomorrow."

Tien just shrugged. "Fine with me. You two can stay here all you want, but I'm going to the top of the cliff. I'll see you two tomorrow." And with that said, the three eyed man turned and left the girls to their own devices.

Erasa looked towards Videl mournfully. "We're gonna have to climb that rock, aren't we?"

Videl sighed. "Yeah Erasa, it looks like we're gonna have to."

After waiting awhile, the two girls began walking in the direction Tien went, soon coming up to a rocky trail that zigzagged up the cliff wall. Looking up it, Videl could see Tien was in the middle of the second trail, having no trouble at all. Stalling for a little bit as she watched her bodyguard following the path, the Satan girl finally sighed and started following the trail up, her blond companion following her soon after.

At first, the climb wasn't so bad, the two girls easily moving through the first three paths. When they got to the fourth, things got a bit harder, but nothing too serious. It was about the middle of the sixth cross on the cliff that things really got interesting.

Erasa was tired. After walking the whole way from the mansion and climbing up this cliff, the blond girl had spent all of her energy and was now too pooped to go any further. It took a good ten minutes to get the girl moving again and an extra half hour to finish the sixth path. The steep trail was exhausting the girls, taking them to the point of dropping to their knees from fatigue. It was then that Videl decided enough was enough. Caution be damned; she was gonna fly the rest of the way up this cliff, carrying Erasa; and if Tien didn't like it, tough.

Grabbing hold of her weary friend, the Satan girl pushed her ki beneath her and started flying up the cliff's face. It only took a minute and the moment Videl had reached the top, she set Erasa down, walked a couple feet from the edge, and promptly collapsed. If only sleep would take her now.

"Well, it's about time you two got up here."

Damn, why wasn't anything going her way today?

Turning her head to look towards the hardly tired bodyguard, Videl scowled. "With no thanks to you."

Tien chuckled. "Well, we're gonna take a break now. Rest up and we'll continue the rest of the way to the cabin. Shouldn't take more than a couple hours and if we're careful, we could fly a good amount of the way there."

Somehow gathering up her remaining strength, Videl looked at Tien relieved. "Thank Kami almighty."

Tien watched on amused as he saw both the girls immediately drift off into unconsciousness. Oh well, guessed that meant he was on watch duty until they woke up. Walking towards Erasa, the three eyed man picked the blond up and moved her further away from the cliff's edge. Didn't need her falling back down because she rolled around in her sleep.

It was about half an hour later that Tien woke the girls up. Although reluctant, they two finally got up and we're prepared to move on when Tien stopped. Looking at him confused, Videl asked "Is something wrong Tien?"

Staring up into the sky, Tien pointed and simply said "That."

Clueless and a bit curious, Videl turned to look at what her bodyguard was pointing at. Up in the air, flying through clouds, a giant fire ball flew through the sky. Watching it for a moment, the Satan girl finally asked "What do you think it is?"

"Well, from the look of things, I'd have to say that that's a space ship and it looks like it's gonna crash."

Erasa became very alarmed. "Crash? Where?"

"It's not gonna land here," Tien responded, calming the blond girl, "but it will crash off in that direction."

Staring in the direction of Tien's estimated landing site, Videl asked "Shouldn't we go over there and make sure no one is hurt?"

Tien sighed. He was hoping the subject of helping the crash victims wouldn't come up. They were the least of his worries right now and he didn't think the group should be worried about anyone else at the moment. But if his employer wanted to help the unfortunate souls, he'd have to put up with it.

"Fine, we'll go and make sure everyone is alright. Is that okay with everyone?"

When the two girls nodded, Tien turned his attention back to the falling ship, noticing that it had disappeared from his line of sight. It was a light tremor that told him the ship had finally hit ground, meaning that there wasn't any risk of the ship landing on top of them if they had gotten to the crash site early. Picking up Erasa, Tien and Videl flew towards to area of impact to see if they could lend their assistance.

* * *

Gero was staring at the screen furious. Apparently, that force that was coming to Earth was just a distraction from a much larger army. The Earth Defense Force had sustained just as much damage as they had dished out. The first line had been wiped out along with a good portion of the second and third reinforcement ships. The fourth line had taken a minimum amount of damage, but it didn't look like it mattered. The larger army would have an easy time picking apart the remaining defenses.

And the worst part about this was the large force was from the Cold Family.

Somehow, those damnable lizards had gotten the upper hand and force the Earth forces to retreat or surrender, showing no quarter to all those who surrender. Just now, many of the retreating Earth battleships were arriving. Then to put on top of it all, an unknown space army came in invading, chasing after a spaceship.

Wait a minute, who was on that vessel?

"Servant! What was the identification code for the vessel that was being chased by the invading force?" Gero demanded.

"I believe it was Ship EA 306," the soldier replied, using the monitor to look it up.

"306? But the 300's are for trading vessels, not civilian ships," Gero said aloud. He didn't like this at all. He needed to find out who was on that shuttle and quickly.

Unfortunately, all of his military forces were currently occupied. Between the defenses in space and the groups protecting the cities, he didn't have anyone else to send. It looked liked he was going to have to call in the chairs…

* * *

So…this was Earth.

Not much of anything to look at.

Taking in the scenery, Gohan wasn't very impressed. Standing on the ruined ships as they slowly sank into the lake they crashed in, the saiyan took note of the trees and grass surrounding the body of water. While the forest was nice, it was the sky that was a big turnoff. The dead, grey clouds covered everything, not letting a beam of sunlight through. A very ugly sight to behold.

"So what's the plan?" Goten asked as he stood to one side of Gohan, Trunks standing on the other.

"Well, currently we need to cause a ruckus. That way the leaders will turn their attention to us and possible try to take us out themselves."

Trunks nodded. "That sounds like a good plan, but what makes you think they haven't notice us yet?"

Thinking about Trunks' point, the elder saiyan started sensing for any high power levels, detecting a few spreading out. "Good call Trunks, we got a few leaving one certain spot. I'd say that would be the Northwest."

"So we gonna fight them? I hope so," Goten said, getting giddy.

Gohan smiled. "Yeah we're gonna fight them. We'll split up and take 'em all on."

That statement earned some cheers from the younger saiyans. They had been waiting a long time for a good fight and it was about time they got to show these humans exactly what a saiyan warrior was made of.

Suddenly, Gohan jerked his head to the South. "Damn, I didn't sense those. Guys, we got three power levels heading our way. Only one of them seems to pose a threat."

Trunks and Goten looked in the direction the older saiyan was. They both could feel the kis he was talking about, but they didn't feel worried. They could deal with them easily.

"Gohan, I'll take those three on. You and Trunks take off," Goten said a determined look on his face.

Though a bit reluctant, Gohan nodded. "Okay, you take care of them. Here, take these." Pulling a small bag from out of his armor, and pouring the contents out, three beans came falling out and landed in the palm of his hand. "Here's a senzu bean for each of us. Use them wisely."

When both younger saiyans took a bean, Gohan tucked the remaining one in his glove. "Okay then, take care everybody. Trunks, let's go."

With a nodded, Trunks took off, Gohan flying off in a different direction. Turning to the South, Goten flew off to meet the unexpected visitors.

* * *

"Videl, Erasa, we have an incoming power heading right for us," Tien announced, alerting the girls.

"Where's it coming from?" Videl asked, looking around.

"It's coming from the North and moving pretty fast. It'll be here any minute," Tien answered.

Meanwhile, Erasa had moved to get out of the open. As long as Tien and Videl were here, she knew they could take on any threat while she would be more of a liability.

"So what are we gonna do?" Videl asked.

"If it attacks us, I'll go in first. Wait till you see an opening and use the Dodon Ray. I want to take this guy down quickly."

"Right," Videl replied, getting into a fighting stance.

It didn't take long for the unknown power to arrive. Upon looking at the person, Videl gasped.

"Gohan!"

Tien's eyes widen. This was the saiyan that he had been searching for. If it wasn't for him, Chiaotzu, Yamcha, and Crane would still be alive. The bodyguard's anger welled up. It was time for him to pay.

Yet, he had this nagging feeling that this wasn't the saiyan he was tracking down. This saiyan looked to be a bit smaller, younger than the one he had fought. Even his hair was wilder.

Videl was also noticing this. Though this saiyan looked just like Gohan, there were too many differences than she could ignore. Was this Gohan?

"Gohan?" the saiyan said confused. "How do you know my brother?"

Videl felt dismay creep into her just as Tien's thoughts of hate dissipated. So this wasn't the one they were seeking.

But then, this guy had just said the saiyan they were looking for was his brother. And if Videl remembered correctly, there was a saiyan that looked very similar to Gohan on that tape of the stolen shuttle. If that was the case, then it was possible that Gohan was also on the planet somewhere.

However, she needed to do something with the one in front of her. Maybe he could lead them right to the saiyan she was after. "Yeah I know him. Would you know where he is?" Videl answered, slowly dropping her stance.

The young saiyan continued to look at them. "Why would you want to know that?"

"Cause I've been looking for him for quite awhile. If it helps, I met him back on Vegeta."

"Huh? Gohan knows a girl?"

"Well there are women on Vegeta you know!" Videl shouted. Was this kid dumb or something?

At this point in time, Tien decided to jump in. "Could you tell us your name? So we can call you something besides boy."

The saiyan stared at the three eyed guy oddly. It took awhile but finally he answered the question. "My name's Goten, a saiyan warrior of Vegeta. Now tell me yours."

Tien smiled. "My name's Tien, the bodyguard of the girl behind me. Her name's Videl. We also have another named Erasa but she's in hiding right now."

"In hiding? Why's she doing that?"

"Because she isn't much of a fighter."

"Well bring her out. I won't hurt her."

Tien nodded. So far they had been on somewhat civil terms. He was positive the saiyan knew they were humans, but knowing his brother must've delayed him from killing them on sight. If he could get on this guy's good side, maybe he would take them to Gohan.

"Erasa! Come on out! It's safe!" the bodyguard yelled out. Erasa in turn came out of her hiding spot, looking cautiously up at the hovering saiyan. Who knew if he would attack her.

Goten watched as the blond human walked over to the other two. From what he could tell, the bald guy was the strongest with black haired girl being second. The blond was true to Tien's word that she wasn't a fighter since her ki wasn't as strong as the others.

Suddenly, a stronger ki popped up, heading towards the crash site. Jerking his head back the way he came, Goten started to become excited. Maybe that power would fight him.

"See you guys later," the young saiyan called before taking off back towards the lake. Watching Goten take off the way he came confused Tien until he sensed the other power approaching. This one was a lot stronger than he expected to be on Earth, short of any of the government chairs.

"Videl, I want you to hang back with Erasa. There's a big power where that saiyan is headed to. I'm gonna make sure he gets through that fight so he can lead us to Gohan. Understand?" Tien said.

Videl looked ready to bite his head from the order. She obviously wanted to follow as well.

Scowling, Tien reinforced his statement. "Videl, someone has to be able to protect Erasa while the other helps the saiyan. You wouldn't be of any use to him like I would be. Now stay here or I'll knock you out and have Erasa protect you."

Videl's eyes widened. Being unconscious while having Erasa watching her wasn't a good idea. The blond was more likely to bolt at the mere sound of the leaves rustling in the wind, leaving the Satan girl open for anything to do with her as it wished. She was gonna have to listen to Tien's order unfortunately.

"Fine, I'll stay behind," Videl said reluctantly.

"Good. I'll be back in a little while," Tien said. Turning in the direction Goten headed off to, the three eyed bodyguard launched himself into the air, flying fast to make up for lost time.

As soon Tien was out of sight, Videl turned to Erasa. "Okay Erasa, let's follow him."

"What!" the blond girl cried out. "Aren't we supposed to stay here like Tien said?"

"And miss the fight? You must be joking. If we can see this Goten fight, we'll get a better idea of how strong Gohan is."

"But didn't you get to see that back in East Fort?"

"All he did was blast the soldiers. I didn't get much of an idea of how strong he was then."

"Why do you need to know how strong he is?"

"So I'll know how easy it'll be when I kick his ass to the moon and back. Now come on! We're gonna see that fight or I'm leaving you here to get lost."

Erasa paled. Videl couldn't do that! She could be lost for days! If only that girl hadn't found her bawling her eyes out when she got lost in the village when she first arrived in East Fort.

"Ooh fine. Let's go after them," Erasa said distraught.

"I knew you'd see things my way," Videl said happily. Turning around she began running in the direction Tien and Goten had flown, Erasa trying to catch up. "Vi! Why won't you fly us over there?"

"Cause Tien will sense me and you know he won't like that."

Erasa felt like bursting into tears. Not only was she heading towards danger, but she was being forced to run towards it.

Things just couldn't get any worse.

* * *

And here marks the beginning of the end. Several fights are on the way so look out, this story will be coming to its last leg.

To Dragongirl: Lol, thanks. About time I killed that guy off after so many failed attempts. There will be even more butt kicking in upcoming chapters.


	25. Falling Down

Goten was hovering over the lake with the crashed ships. He just knew an enemy was coming here and if his ki signal was right, it was someone very strong.

A worthy opponent.

He was still a little lost with that group of humans he had run into earlier. Somehow they had known his brother and that was puzzling him to no end.

But that didn't matter. His opponent would soon arrive and he could fight to his heart's content. Then he could think about that other matter later. Just as long as he didn't have to wait very long.

And the saiyan wasn't disappointed. Soon the person he was waiting for appeared on the horizon, heading right for him. It didn't take long for the mystery man to reach him, but one look told Goten that this thing wasn't a man.

Before him, floating several feet away, was this green reptilian creature. Black spots dotted the creature's skin all over along with insect like wings on its back. A tail with a needle tip waved lazily around behind it.

It was a few moments before the creature spoke. "Are you the person that crashed here?" it asked.

"Yep, that would be me," Goten responded, making eye contact with the thing.

"What's you business here?" it demanded then.

"Well, it doesn't really concern you, but I'm here on a mission."

"And that mission would be?"

"I'm not telling."

The reptile chuckled. "So that's the way it's gonna be huh? I guess I'll just have to beat it out of you."

Goten grinned. "See if you can. I rather doubt it."

Growling, the green thing launched itself at the saiyan, unleashing a war cry as he threw his fist.

Blocking the blow easily, Goten countered with his own punch, nailing the reptile in the face, sending it flying. Blinking as the green thing flew away, Goten could feel a wave of disappointment flow through him. Despite the high power level, this thing didn't have much combat experience to justify its strength. Was this the best Earth could offer in the form of a challenge?

Suddenly, the reptile stopped its flight and fired a large ki blast at the saiyan. Goten just watched as the beam flew at him before he slapped it away; the blast exploding when it hit land. Shaking his head in displeasure as the light from the explosion reflected off of him, Goten said "You're not very strong are you green dude?"

The creature growled dangerously before yelling back "I am not a green dude! I am called Cell and I will send you to your maker you little pest!"

"Well, I'm not a pest either. I'm the saiyan warrior Goten, the one that will crush you like a cockroach under my boot," Goten responded coolly.

Pissed off, Cell charged the young saiyan again, swinging his tail as a first attack. However, Goten caught the tail and began spinning, swinging Cell around by his tail. Finally, the saiyan warrior released the appendage, sending the reptile into the sinking ships. Without hesitating, Goten fired a ki blast into the wreckage, causing both ships to explode in a fiery holocaust.

Watching behind a tree as the explosion erupted, Tien was in shock. While he had no idea what that Cell guy was, he knew that thing could give him a run for his money. Yet, Goten was dealing with him like he was an every day annoyance. How strong was this kid?

As the explosion died down, Goten stared down at the left over bits and pieces of the ships. Despite how low Cell's ki was, the saiyan knew the creature was up to something. With the signal coming from the lake, he floated higher into the sky. The further he was from the lake's surface, the less chance Cell could commit a sneak attack.

Suddenly, a large blast erupted from the water, roaring through the air towards the saiyan. Goten simple moved out of the way as the beam continued going high into the sky. It was then that Cell appeared behind the young man, the tip of his tail pointing straight at him. Immediately, the tail flew at its target, Goten dodging it barely.

Cell continued to strike his opponent with his tail, each attempt being dodged. While surprised by the attack, Goten soon got bored of barrage and drifted away. "Is that the best you could come up with after hiding out for so long? Pathetic."

Cell let out a frustrated cry. "Just wait till I get my hands on you, you little shrimp!"

Goten laughed. "As if you could. I've fought fleas that were more challenging than you. Speaking of which..."

As soon as those words left his mouth, the young saiyan began scratching himself underneath his armpit, emphasizing his point.

A look of fury and hatred crossed Cell's face. Cupping his hands and moving them to his right, the reptile shouted, "Alright then monkey boy, let's see if this is challenging enough for you!"

Goten got a serious look on his face. Judging from the growing amount of ki being gathered, this attack could prove to be interesting.

"Kaa…meee…haa…meeeee…" Cell chanted as a blue orb of energy appeared in his hands. If the old hermit's attack didn't beat this saiyan scum, then Cell had no idea what would. But he was sure that the blast would take care of this menace.

"Hey, we're not getting any younger pal. You gonna fire that thing or what?" Goten called out.

"Your death wish," Cell replied before thrusting his arms out in front of him and releasing the attack with a loud cry. "Haaaaaa!"

The blue orb soon fired as the beam rushed at the saiyan. Goten was caught off guard by the size and power behind the blast, completely surprised that Cell could create such an attack. Flinging himself to the side and down, his back pointing towards the water below, Goten watched as the beam passed him and collided with a mountain off in the distance, obliterating much of the top.

The young saiyan gave a low whistle. What an attack! If only he had such a blast, who knew what he could do! Let's see, Cell cupped his hands like this…

The reptilian watched in curiosity as Goten set him self in the Kamahamaha pose, cupping his hands behind him as he tried to remember who Cell had done. Was this little punk trying to copy his move?

Laughing out loud, Cell yelled out to his saiyan opponent "What do you think you're doing? There's no way you can do the Kamahamaha Wave!"

Goten looked up with a confused expression. "So those are the words you chanted? Okay then…"

Now Cell began to get interested. Did this guy actually think he could perform this technique that he had stolen from Master Roshi?

Goten closed his eyes, gathering his energy. Looking at his opponent dead on, he began chanting "Kaa…meee…haa…meeeee…"

Soon, a blue ball of energy appeared in the saiyan's cupped hands. Smiling a little, then returning back to a look of concentration, Goten thrust his cupped hands in front of and cried the last word "Haaaaaaaaa!"

A beam larger than the one Cell had fired previously erupted from the saiyan, rushing towards the reptile. Completely surprised, all Cell could do was hold out his hands in front of him, yelling at the top of his lungs before he was consumed by the blast.

Tien gave out a cry as he saw the huge blast. There were only three people he knew that had that attack and one of them was dead. Now that Cell guy had the attack and this saiyan just copied it just from watching it performed once. It was incredible to say the least.

However, since the bodyguard had been too consumed with the spectacle occurring in front of him, he never took notice of Videl and Erasa approaching the battlefield behind him. While they had missed much of the battle, they had witnesses Goten blasting that green creature into smithereens. Though having already seen the ki blasts before and being a user herself, Videl was still astonished by the size of the blast. Erasa, on the other hand, was too stunned by the show that she couldn't even say a word.

Raising his forearm to his forehead and wiping the sweat from it, Goten let out a deep breath of air. Finally he had his own finishing move. While Trunks had his Finish Buster technique and Gohan had inherited all of Piccolo's moves, Goten had been feeling a little bit left out without his own attack. Sure he could've learned one of the other's techniques, but he wanted a move all his own, one he could shove in Trunks' face over and over. And now he had that technique. What a great day this was becoming.

Turning his head to look in the distance, Goten stared focusing on any of the other kis that were out and about. He could feel Gohan reaching one of the powers and Trunks seemed to be in the middle of a fight so that ruled those out. Hmmm…hey, there's a couple of powerful kis off to the east. Those should prove to be worthy adversaries.

It was then he sensed the three people he had met earlier. Looking back the way he came, he saw the two human girls out in the open, gawking at him. The bodyguard wasn't with them, but he was close by, that much Goten knew. He just had to bring him out.

"Okay humans, come out here. I know you there so there's no point to hiding from me," Goten called out.

Tien looked a little confused. What did he mean by "humans"? He should've been the only one here unless someone else came. Quickly, he sensed the surrounding area and discovered Videl and Erasa somewhere behind him. Tien almost slapped himself with his stupidity. How could he expect Videl to stay behind when she was so stubborn.

Stepping out into the open, the bodyguard looked towards his employer and her friend, not showing his annoyance to them as they walk up to him. All together, the three approached the lakeshore where the saiyan landed.

Waiting for them to arrive, Goten immediately began the conversation. "I take it you saw the fight, right?"

Tien nodded. "Yes we did. I have to commend you on your fighting abilities. They're very extraordinary."

Goten smirked. "It was nothing. How that lizard guy thought he was so tough is a mystery to me. I guess the people here must be weak or something."

The three humans remained quiet. They had no idea what this saiyan wanted, but until he made his intentions known, they would try not to antagonize him by sticking up for their people.

"Now I have some questions for you," Goten said. "First off, why did you follow me?"

Tien decided to take this question. "We figured that you could've used some assistance in your fight, though it's pretty obvious that you didn't."

"And what would make you want to help me?" the saiyan queried. "I'd think you'd want to help out your own planet's warriors."

This time, Videl answered. "My family's house was attacked a couple days ago. I'm not sure what it was about, but our government would rather have our heads than our help right now. So we thought it'd be better if we threw our support behind you since you're going against them."

While Tien could've debated the Satan girl's answer, he wasn't about to do so. It would serve them a lot more if they could join forces with this saiyan; at least for the time being.

Goten seemed to go into thought. Although he was pretty sure he could handle the two power levels he had sensed a little bit ago, it would be wise if he took the three eyed guy with him as back up. However, that would leave the two girls alone. While he could care less about them, one of them knew and was possibly looking for his brother. Maybe he could use that to his advantage.

"Okay then, here's the deal if you want to help me," the young saiyan started out, gaining the attention of all three humans. "Three Eyes, you're coming with me. I felt a couple of high power levels a couple minutes ago and I'd like a little back up. Understand?"

Tien nodded his head. While he didn't like the "Three Eyes," he figured he'd have to live with it until Goten actually learned his name. Videl, however, wasn't too happy with that arrangement.

"And what about me and Erasa? We can help too you know," the girl said miffed.

Goten looked at the Satan girl, completely expecting that reaction. "Right now, you two are about as useful to me as a broken blunt sword. And if I'm right about you, you would rather find my brother than hang around me right?"

Videl almost lit up at the mention of Gohan. "So what do you want me to do then?"

"I'm gonna send you ahead. We're gonna need a ship to escape Earth once we're done here and it would be a lot easier if you two would grab one and head to the furthest power level from here. It'll make for a quick exit and you'll see my brother then. That okay with you?"

Instead of Videl replying, Erasa answered. "Yeah, that's a good idea. We'll get right on it."

Goten nodded before saying "Good." Turning away from his new human allies, he looked off in the distance, trying to find where all of the powerful kis were. Turning back he finally said "Tien and I will be heading to the east. There are a couple of power levels out that way we'll take care of. You girls need to head in a more northwesterly direction."

The humans nodded their heads in understanding. With that done, they split up, Goten and Tien heading in one direction while Videl carried Erasa in another. With everything riding on this plan, neither group could afford to fail.

* * *

To dbzfan952 for Chapter 21: Hey, long time no see. Glad you're feeling better. I understand about Hercule; didn't really put himself in the best light. And as you can probably guess, Earth is gonna be a blast.

To dbzfan952 for Chapter 22: Well, both human and saiyan forces are on the move. Probably the more important part would be the reinforcements on Vegeta if you went by military thinking. At least that what I'd think if I was a military man and the closest I get to that is Risk.

To dbzfan952 for Chapter 23: Lol and not a good stalker at that. Next thing you know, someone will find a blood sample of him, incubate it, recreate him, and when the guy busts out of his tube, he'll destablize and his skin will melt. Bio Bojack anybody?

To dbzfan952 for Chapter 24: Yep, sad but true, the story is on its last leg. Big fights coming up, like the final showdowns in video games. It's been a joy having you hanging on, hope you feel better, and thanks for reviewing.


	26. So Far Away

And this chapter marks something very special to me. This is my first chapter over my previous mark. Admitedly, I've only had one fic to compete with, I still managed to not only make outdue it, not to mention having more words. While this may not mean much to many of you, it's just something I'd like to reflect on since I joined FFN. And now, here's the chapter.

* * *

Flying high over a deserted city, Gohan observed his surroundings. The place looked dead with the grey clouds hovering overhead. Cracks covered the concrete buildings, shattered windows dotting the walls. The sidewalks and paved roads also held many large fractures as they criss crossed the entire city. Yet one thing puzzled the saiyan as he flew overhead. 

Where were all the people?

Yeah the place looked dead and deserted, but from the look of things, it seemed there was some kind of activity occurring recently, if not a few days ago. So why would no one be here?

(So what do you think Piccolo? Why aren't there any people here?)

_(You got me Kid)_

(You're a big help)

_(I try)_

Gohan chuckled a bit. Despite the Namekian usually being stoic and serious, he did have a sense of humor when he wanted to. At least it kept things from getting too boring.

Suddenly a ki blast raced right by the flying saiyan, causing him to stop midair and drop into a defensive stance. He could almost berate himself for dropping his guard for so long but now wasn't the time for it.

Seeing no one around, but knowing someone was near, Gohan flew into the city, landing on broken street, and began searching for his attacker. Checking deserted street after deserted street, the saiyan soon lost his patience and slammed his fist into one of the buildings, creating a large hole in the wall.

"Tsk, tsk, you shouldn't lose your temper like that," a smooth voice said from behind.

The saiyan quickly turned around and saw a young man standing casually behind him. With his blue eyes staring at him while his black hair and orange bandana waving in the wind, Gohan shouted out "Who are you?"

The youth smirked. "My name is of little concern to you saiyan, but I will tell you that I am a government official."

Gohan's eyes widen. This was one of the leaders of Earth? A young man? Could this be the guy who attacked him earlier?

"So human, if you are with the government here, you have to have some kind of title which I have no doubt you'll like to rub in my face. Might as well get that over with."

The man laughed. "Right you are saiyan. I am the Seventeenth Chair of the Twenty Chair Alliance. Though there aren't that many chairs being held right now, I still hold a very high seat."

"Seventeen out of Twenty, huh?" Gohan said, "I guess I'll be calling you Seventeen since you won't give me your name."

Seventeen waved the comment off. "Do as you like, it doesn't matter. You'll be dying here anyways."

Gohan frowned. This guy was brushing him off like he was nothing and they hadn't even thrown a punch yet. Then there was the growling he heard from Piccolo that told him he didn't like the arrogant prick either.

(I take it you don't like this guy anymore than I do)

_(Damn right Kid, cream him)_

(With pleasure)

Gohan then slid into a fighting stance, his left arm and hand pointing at the newly anointed Seventeen, the hand open. Seventeen, however, stayed in his relaxed stance, his hands on his hips as he watched in amusement as the saiyan prepared to fight him.

Calling out, the black headed youth said "You honestly think you can take me on? That's got to be the funniest thing I've ever heard." To prove his point further, Seventeen began to laugh out loud, closing his eyes and throwing his head up as he roared with laughter.

It was then that Gohan attacked. Using his arm, he stretched it out at racing speeds, his hand latching on to his opponent's face and pushing him with his ever growing arm until they hit a building at the end of the street. Giving out a loud cry, Gohan fired a ki blast, causing the crumbing building to explode. The saiyan soon retracted his arm back and readied for Seventeen's retaliatory attack.

Soon, Gohan saw his black haired opponent rise from the rubble with a pissed off look on his face. "I didn't know saiyans could stretch their arms like that!" the youth yelled out. "And now I will repay you for that knowledge by killing you slowly and painfully!" Seventeen then launched himself at his opponent, going faster than what Gohan had expected, barely crossing his arms in front of him to block the incoming punch.

Throwing his arms to a side, along with Seventeen's fist, Gohan counterattacked with his own fist that the young man easily parried and then threw his fist again. Gohan dodged the fist this time and jumped backwards when Seventeen threw another punch, jumping into the air to put some distance between the two.

Without hesitating, Seventeen fired a ki blast at his floating saiyan opponent, which the monkey dodge as he expected. He then launched himself into the air and slammed his head into his opponent's stomach, making the saiyan spit out the air in his lungs and the spit in his mouth from the impact.

Disappearing, Seventeen reappeared behind his saiyan opponent with his hands clasped together, jackhammering him to the side of the saiyan's head, and sending Gohan into a building. Smiling, the human crossed his arms in front of his chest and hovered in midair, waiting for Gohan to come out into the open.

Meanwhile, Gohan was just getting on his feet, staring out at his opponent through his self made hole. This guy was a lot stronger than he had given him credit for; so the saiyan needed a plan to get a few solid hits in, hamper the guy's speed, and the match would be his.

Focusing his energy, Gohan raised his arm up and fired a large ki blast at Seventeen through the hole in the wall.

Seeing the blast rushing towards him. Seventeen easily dodge the incoming beam. However, he soon felt a pain in his stomach as his saiyan opponent suddenly appeared in front of him and rammed his knee into the black headed youth's gut. Using his right hand, Gohan crossed it over his body before swinging it out, backhanding the human in the face, and sending him flying away. Giving chase, the saiyan clasped his hands together in order to jackhammer his opponent.

However, Seventeen had managed to recover himself and caught the blow, flipping over Gohan's head, and nailing the heel of his foot in the back of the saiyan's head.

Lurching forward, Gohan quickly caught himself and turned around, swinging his fist. His punch was blocked by Seventeen, who had rushed back at the saiyan, barely managing to get his arm up to stop the surprising blow. Pushing the arm away, Seventeen threw his own punch, only to have his saiyan opponent catch it and not let go, throwing another punch that his opponent also caught and held on to.

Straining, the two combatants pushed against each other with all of their strength, trying to overpower the other, both fighters standing in midair.

Finally, Seventeen leaned back, using Gohan's momentum against him as the human swung both of his legs up and firmly planted them in the saiyan's face.

Releasing his opponent's fist, Seventeen watched as the saiyan warrior flew higher into the air, recovering, and readying himself for his opponent to charge in again. This hadn't been that bad of a fight so far.

Gohan, however, had other plans. Getting thoroughly pissed as a human seemed to have the upper hand on him, the warrior had searched through all of Piccolo's techniques and found one to his liking. Finally stopping himself from floating higher, the saiyan saw his human opponent was waiting on him to make the first move again. That was perfect. Gathering his ki, Gohan let out a cry as he fired ki blasts at his opponent. "Scatter Shot!"

Seventeen was ready though. He easily swatted away any and all blasts that came at him, ignoring any that just missed him completely. Apparently, this saiyan needed some work on his aim.

Finally, the blasts stopped coming, Gohan appearing to be breathing hard. Smirking, the human called out "Hey monkey boy, you need to learn to shoot your ki blasts right. You missed me several times."

However, the saiyan's reaction wasn't what Seventeen expected. Instead of being pissed or readying another attack, Gohan smirked. "Who ever said I was done?"

"What?" Seventeen said confused. Turning his head to his right, he suddenly saw a bunch of ki balls floating there. Suddenly, they and several more that appeared out of nowhere, rushed around him. Soon, the human leader found himself surrounded by ki balls.

Throwing his arms out to his sides, Gohan yelled out a war cry before swinging his arms in, crossing them in front of him. Immediately, all of the ki balls rushed at Seventeen, the black headed youth only having time to cross his arms in front of him as he was enveloped by a massive ball of flames.

Buildings were incinerated by the blast as the ground crumbled into a crater. Watching the spectacle, Gohan had to admit that he hadn't expected that kind of explosion.

(Damn Piccolo, why didn't you tell me that would happen?)

_(I wanted that human dead as much as you did Kid. Didn't think you'd mind the fireworks)_

(Got a point there)

Soon, the explosion calmed down, smoke rising from the newly formed hole in the ground and half destroyed buildings surrounding it, their insides showing for all to see. Relaxing a bit, Gohan just took in all of the destruction. He could really get use to causing that kind of damage anytime he wanted.

Suddenly, dust and smoke shot out of the crater, rushing high into the sky, a loud thundering sound echoing throughout the abandoned city. Covering his face with his arms, Gohan waited till the rush of smoke settled down before looking in front of him, his eyes opening wide at what he found.

Floating high above the hole, about eye level with the saiyan warrior, was Seventeen; and a very unhappy one at that. Bruises and scrapes were all over his body, his clothes torn and bloody. Unfortunately, that was all the damage shown on his physical form.

"You're a lot stronger than I though saiyan," Seventeen called out, a hint of disdain in his voice. "I believe I now owe you the knowledge of my name. I am called Angie Zeventien…and that will be the last name you'll ever hear."

Crouching slightly, Angie yelled, his power level increasing dramatically. Gohan was in near shock. Was this guy not fighting him seriously earlier?

Suddenly, Angie took off, flying straight at the saiyan, his fist landing right in Gohan's gut. Before Gohan could even absorb the shock from the strike, the pissed human launched into a barrage of punches, leaving no body part untouched. As Angie continued his assault, he pushed his saiyan opponent backwards in the air.

Feeling pain as each punch landed on either his stomach, chest, shoulders, or face, Gohan had had enough. Quickly gathering a little ki, the saiyan warrior pushed it out from his body, blowing Angie a few feet away. Reacting quickly, Gohan threw a punch at his opponent, only to have it dodged and having Angie land a roundhouse kick on his face, sending him backwards through the air.

However, before the saiyan could get very far, Angie grabbed onto Gohan's leg and began swinging him around in a circle, releasing his opponent as he flew straight into the ground. Holding his hands out in front of him, the seventeenth chair let out a war cry as he fired a ki blast into the ground, pushing Gohan further underground.

Floating in the air, Angie soon drifted towards the ground, landing near the edge of the hole he had just created, staring into the dark abyss. After awhile, he aimed his hand at the hole and fired several ki blasts into it, smoke and dust flying out of it. "Come on out monkey boy! I know you're down there! Come out and fight me like a man!" the human shouted out.

After awhile, Angie began to wonder if he had killed the saiyan when the ground behind him erupted, Gohan appearing out of the hole, his eyes glowing red from anger. The saiyan then fried his eyebeams at point blank range, hoping the attack would finish the fight.

Unfortunately, Angie disappeared, the eyebeams hitting nothing as they flew down the street. Suddenly, the human appeared a bit to the side of Gohan, his fist connecting with the saiyan's face, sending him the opposite direction of the eyebeams, skidding on the ground till he came to a stop.

"Is that all you got, monkey boy?" Angie taunted. "I thought a 'saiyan warrior' was much stronger than this. What a waste of my time."

Meanwhile, Gohan was struggling to get up, spitting blood onto the ground as he rested a bit on all fours. He was getting nowhere fast and at this rate, there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell of beating this guy.

_(Kid, I hope you have some kind of trump card cause I have no idea what else you can do)_ Piccolo said.

Gohan sighed out loud. (Yeah I have one. I was hoping not to have to use it here, but it looks like I have no other choice)

_(You have a move I don't know about?)_ Piccolo asked surprised. _(Since when?)_

This time Gohan chuckled. (You'll see very soon, Piccolo)

Standing up on his feet, Gohan looked at Angie, a serious look on his face. "Okay human, you're time is up. This next round will be the last…and you won't be winning it."

Angie just laughed. "Sure, whatever you say monkey boy. The only part where you're right is this being the last round. I'll even give you the first attack as a memento for your last struggle."

Gohan smirked a bit, chuckling a little. "There's no way you'll beat me; I'll make sure of it," he said softly.

Then a look of concentration overcame his features as he began building his ki, a blue aura surrounding him as his power increased. Angie just watched, amused at the spectacle. As far as he could tell, it was nothing he couldn't handle.

Slowly, the blue aura turned gold as Gohan's hair stiffened. A steady cry started coming from his mouth as his power level soon began jumping dramatically. Soon, his black eyes disappeared into the whites of his eyeballs; the muscles of his body expanding the longer the power increase continued.

Then, with a loud cry, the gold aura swept over the saiyan's body, his hair becoming blond, his eyes reappearing as a teal color. Steadying his breathing, Gohan turned his attention to Angie, who was staring in fascination. However, that curiosity soon gave away to smugness. "Is that it? You just changed the color of your hair and eyes. You're gonna have to do better than that monkey boy."

Gohan smirked before he disappeared, reappearing right in front of Angie, his fist imbedded in the youth's face. Using his other fist, he smashed it into the human's gut, causing him to bend forward, releasing the air in his lungs in a gasp. With the same arm, Gohan moved it to his side, about even with his shoulder, the hand open before slamming the palm onto Angie's face, sending him flying.

After hitting the ground and rolling onto his feet, his hands on the ground steadying him, Angie bared his teeth in anger. "So you increased your power level. Very cleaver, but it's not gonna do you any good since I'm still going to kill you!"

Rising completely onto his feet, Angie flung his arms in front of him and fired a ki blast at his saiyan opponent. Gohan simply swatted the blast away, only to see Angie right in his face, his arm pulled back, ready to attack him.

Gohan didn't even move, allowing his opponent to land his punch, it connecting with his face. The saiyan didn't even flinch from the impact. A little shocked from the lack of a reaction, Angie launched into a full out assault, throwing punch after punch at the golden Gohan's face, each one not even making the saiyan blink.

Getting frustrated, Angie gathered as much of his strength and ki into his fist and slammed it into the saiyan's face, making the golden figure turn his head. Slowly, Gohan turned his head back and stared at the human, no evidence of the fierce barrage anywhere on his face. "Are you done now?"

Angie's jaw dropped. What was this guy? How could none of his blows even scratch him? How, how, how?

Suddenly, Angie felt an intense pain all over his body, as if several blows were rained down upon him. There was only one problem though; the only person who could've done it hadn't even moved a muscle. Was his speed that much greater than he could track?

As Angie was doubled over in pain, he began to panic. He couldn't be so overpowered by this saiyan trash. There was just no way a filthy monkey could be this strong. Soon, his pain was replaced with anger and hatred. He would make sure this dirty fleabag wouldn't leave alive.

Yelling at the top of his lungs, Angie lunged at Gohan; the saiyan swatting him away like a pest, sending him flying into a building. Once the black headed human had crashed into the structure, it began to collapse, rubble falling all over the place.

Standing with the ruined building to his left, his head turned to look at the pile of concrete, they golden saiyan lifted his left hand up, two of his fingers extended and hovering in front of his forehead. Within moments, energy began crackling around the end of the digits, ready to be fired.

Suddenly, rubble began to move, falling to the wayside as Angie soon arose from the shattered remains of architecture. Without hesitating, the saiyan pointed his glowing fingers at the beaten human, firing the attack by calling its name. "Special Beam Cannon!"

The beam flew at high speeds, piercing Angie in the chest, blowing out his back, sending his form into a large piece of architecture, his lifeless body sliding down as his blood painted the debris' surface.

Silences reigned throughout the city, a gust of wind blowing by before Gohan lowered his arm, his hair and eyes returning to their original colors.

_(Okay Kid, explain yourself)_

Gohan smiled a bit before he flew off into the air, leaving the deserted city behind him. (So what do you want to know?)

_(Everything. Tell me what exactly it was you did. Your whole body changed)_

(That, my green friend, was a power thought to be a legend amongst my people: the fabled Super Saiyan)

_(Super Saiyan? And since when were you able to do this? You never did it before)_

Gohan smiled a bit. (It was about the time my father and Vegeta were killed)

* * *

It kept playing in his mind. Every time Gohan went over the events in his head, all he saw were his father being slaughtered with blitz beams and Vegeta having his brains blown out of his head.

The young saiyan had just left the place of the saiyan prince's last stand, trying to hold back his emotions. He needed to get back to the cave and fast. It was only a matter of time before the humans would catch up to him and finish them all off.

And there was no way he would let that happen.

Finally, Gohan entered the cave, his younger brother and Vegeta's son still sleeping innocently. Good, it would make things a lot easier to get them out of here. Grabbing a leather pack, Gohan stuffed the two saiyans into it, their heads sticking out of the hole, still asleep.

Looking around the cave, Gohan could see the memories of his time spent here, specifically the ones with his father and Vegeta. Soon, his emotions began to get out of his control and tears began running down his face. Managing to retain some of his mind, the young saiyan gathered his ki, ready to obliterate the cave so that the humans couldn't track them any further than this spot.

Unleashing a cry of anguish, sorrow, and anger, Gohan unleashed his power, destroying the cave completely. However, something was going wrong. Instead of his ki dropping after the attack, it continued to rise, never stopping. He soon only saw black.

The next thing Gohan knew, he was racing through the forest, dodging trees as if they were a mere nuisance. He failed to realize the speed he was traveling at, nor did he notice the lack of fatigue from covering as much ground at the speed he was going. As far as he was concerned, this was normal.

Soon the saiyan reached a clearing with a lake in it. Slowing down, Gohan gently put the still sleeping saiyan children on the ground and walked over to the body of water, kneeling down next to it and drinking from it; submerging his hands underneath the water's surface and bringing what ever amount of liquid his hands caught to his mouth.

After getting his fill, the young saiyan splashed his face to cool himself down. When Gohan looked back at the pond, he froze. Staring back at him in the water was a boy with golden hair and teal eyes, a combination he had never seen before. Slowly raising his hand, Gohan saw that the blond boy copied his action. Moving his hand to his hair, the young saiyan grabbed one of the spikes and pulled it down to his eyelevel to look at the color.

It was blond.

Jumping onto his feet as if he were bitten by a snake, Gohan began to panic. What had happened to him? Why was his hair different? How could he have done it? Would he ever go back to what he used to look like? What was he now?

What had he become?

Still emotional from watching two of the most important people in his life die in front of his eyes, Gohan screamed at the top of his lungs, thrusting his arms out in front of him and drawing them back to his body, only just to thrust them back out again as he fired ki blast after ki blast into the lake, causing the water to fly high into the air. Anger, fear, and sorrow reigned supreme within him until he collapse to the ground exhausted, panting heavily. Looking over at the younger saiyans, he was relieved to find that they had somehow remained asleep during his fit of madness. Hoping that his eyes were just playing games with him, Gohan got back to his feet and moved to take another look.

Looking back at his reflection with anxiety, the young saiyan soon saw that the blond hair was slowly darkening, the eyes copying the hair's action until they were both their original colors.

Grabbing the same lock of hair, Gohan pulled it back into his vision and sighed with relief that it was black again. After taking a few deep breaths, Gohan gathered the sleeping saiyans and took off back into the woods, finding a good place to camp, and waited to inform the children of their loss.

A job he didn't want to have to do.

* * *

_(Wait a minute. You didn't know what had happened to you?)_ Piccolo asked intrigued and confused.

(Yeah, at the time I hadn't heard of the Super Saiyan legend so I had no idea what had happened to me) Gohan answered.

_(So how did you find out that was what the transformation was?)_

(A couple of months later, when I was training Goten and Trunks for the raids, we ran into another group of saiyans. We hadn't heard of the traitor rumors yet, so we stayed the night with them. It was there I heard of the legend)

_(So what part of the legend made you realize that you had already achieved it?)_

(When they mentioned the transformation. The one telling the story had mentioned it was different from the Oozaru transformation)

_(Oozaru?)_

(The giant ape form)

_(So that's what that was. Anyways, why didn't you use the Super Saiyan form after you found out what it was?)_

Gohan didn't respond to that, holding onto his silence. When it didn't appear that the saiyan would be answering, Piccolo said _(Well?)_

(Because I couldn't) 

_(What? Why?)_

(I'm not sure. The conditions of my first time are very weird so I have no clue what it was that triggered it. All I knew is that it dealt with my emotions. Several times I tried recreating the events that led up to it in my head, but I could never get back into the form. So I decided to beef up my power level and see if that would help, which it did)

_(But for some reason you still couldn't achieve the form again)_

(Yeah, so I just gave up on it; just put my focus onto trying to stay alive and watching out for Trunks and Goten)

_(But back there you acted as if you could transform the whole time. When did that change?)_

(After we left Majiventa, I managed to rediscover it and slowly built my way back to it)

_(So that's why you got all excited before Bojack attacked us again. But why could you get the form then and didn't use it against that guy?)_

(Because you gave me the needed power boast I needed to get my energy requirement; then you completing the fusion gave it more punch. It was just a simple matter of the emotions and then voila. As for the Bojack part, I had taken too much damage to get the necessary power to achieve the level. Now before you ask, I didn't even need the form to beat Bojack up in the atmosphere as you saw)

Piccolo just laughed. _(Perceptive Kid. Well then, I think I'll let you take us to our next battle. Guess I'll just have to have more confidence in your fighting abilities)_

Gohan just got a small smile on his face. He had earned his colleague's respect and nothing else needed to be said. The only thing left was to complete their mission and free his people.

And he was positive he could do it.

* * *

To dbzfan952: Hehe, well what can I say, Cell really wasn't much of a martial artist. Gained his power by stealing others and that didn't guarantee that he's inherit fighting abilities. Very natural that a true warrior would put him in his place and not let him go. And now that Goten has a plan, we'll see how that will come to frutation soon. 


	27. Take This

And the day that is the bain of all guys existance is coming up. You know what I mean boys. Hope ya'll took care of your business or the girls will tear you apart...limb from limb...sell your organs on the black market...use your skin as a body suit...uhhh, yeah.

Anyway, good luck and hopefully you survive so you can read the next chapter. For those who review, I'll know which ones don't live past d-day...excuse me, v-day. Just give me a hollar if you survive.

* * *

'What odd terrain' Trunks thought as he flew through the air. A rocky landscape covered with moss and grass reached out for miles. Small, rocky hills were here and there with plateau off in the distance. As far as the young saiyan knew, there was no such place on Vegeta. Odd that it could exist at all.

But then again, he hadn't explored all of Vegeta like he should've been able to. If it wasn't for the humans, he would've been able to find such a place or at least would've been shown it. An experience rightfully his, taken away because of greed and arrogance. However, it wasn't the only one.

One that the young Trunks had always wished for since he could remember was to spend time with this father. That was one thing he knew he should've had; not having to run and barely find a way to survive until he woke up one morning to find himself in a different location and have Gohan tell him his father was dead. That memory still bothered him after all this time.

Trunks shook his head as he felt himself choking up. He couldn't afford to have such thoughts at the moment. He was in enemy territory and such emotions could get him killed.

Looking in front of him, the saiyan's eyes soon caught something floating high in the air. It appeared to be a man, standing midair, looking at him as he approached. As Trunks came to a stop, he took in the odd garments and rather portly frame of the person. Though he wasn't too alarmed by the guy, the lack of a power level was a bit disturbing.

"Who are you?" Trunks demanded, subtly dropping into a guard position, his hand working its way to his sword hilt.

The portly man just stared back at the saiyan as if he was trying to calculate something. On top of that, there appeared to be something occurring around the man's eyes. Flashes of red seemed to blink over and over. To put the cherry on the cake, the man didn't even blink his eyes either, giving Trunks the time of day to witness the whole thing.

"I won't say this again, who are you?" the young saiyan demanded again, slight agitation creeping into his voice.

This time the portly man answered. "After going through my databases, I have concluded that you are of the native people of Vegeta, a saiyan. Twenty will be most pleased with this finding," a very high pitched, robotic voice said.

Trunks scowled. "It took you that long to figure that out? Helloooooo, I'm wearing saiyan armor and have a tail coming out my backside; I think those were all of the clues you needed to realize that fact."

The paled face man just stared again before replying "It should be a simple task of defeating you. My sensors indicate that I will be victorious in a short period of time."

Trunks' scowl deepened. Already this clown dressing loser was saying he could defeat him easily. Well, he would have to prove this guy wrong. "If I'm going to be that easy for ya, then show me what you got tubby."

For the first time, the clown made a facial movement, a smirk appearing on his plump face. It was a bit creepy in the young saiyan's opinion.

Suddenly, the fat man yelled out a war cry as he charged, both of his hands wide open to reveal these very out of place red gems imbedded in his palms. Loosening his grip on his sword hilt, Trunks prepared himself for the oncoming attack.

Just as the clown arrived within striking distance, Trunks shot his hands out, gripping the man's forearms and pulling them towards him. As the saiyan pulled the arms, he leaned his body backwards till his back was facing towards the ground that was far beneath him, pressing his foot into the chest of his opponent, and kicking him away, releasing his grip as he sent the clown flipping away.

Using his speed, Trunks disappeared and reappeared above the portly man and slammed both of his feet into his chest, sending the man flying towards the ground until he crashed into it, sending up a huge cloud of dust and dirt.

As Trunks hovered in the air, he smirked at the dissipating cloud. So much for that guy's power.

However, as the saiyan watched, he soon saw his fallen opponent lying on the ground. Once the dust cloud had completely disappeared, the fat man rose onto his feet, not even a scratch on him. Even his clothes had survived any damage.

Slowly, the clown rose into the air, flying until he was at eye level with Trunks. "You are a little stronger than my sensors had indicated," the annoying voice said. "Allow me to introduce myself as Nineteen, the nineteenth chair of the ruling government body."

Though a little surprised by the lack of damage, Trunks brushed off the introduction. "So you're a politician; big deal. Don't know how you escaped injury after the fall you took but I can assure you that you won't be so lucky next time."

Nineteen just started back at the saiyan until he smirked. "We shall see about that."

Raising both of his hands, the fat man fired a large ki blast, surprising his saiyan opponent. However, his astonishment didn't last very long as the purple headed youth drew his sword from its sheath and sliced the beam down the middle, sending each half in separate directions.

When Trunks didn't see his opponent, he wasn't too worried. It would be a matter of time until that guy showed his face up and he would be ready for it. However, he was caught off guard when a hand came out of nowhere and grabbed his sword arm. A sudden feeling of energy leaking out of him alerted the saiyan to foul play and he quickly turned his body to his right and fired a ki blast right into Nineteen's face, causing him to release his grip on the young saiyan. Dashing away, Trunks put some distance between him and the clown so he could figure out what had just happened.

Breathing deeply for a few seconds, the young saiyan slowly recovered and then sheathed his sword. What had happened back there? It was like he had lost some of his ki when that Nineteen guy had grabbed him. But there was no way that should've happened. Something wrong was going on.

Suddenly, a low chuckle was made, bringing Trunks' attention back to his opponent. An evil smirk was plastered on the clown's face as well as burn marks from the ki blast. All Trunks could do was scowl back. He didn't like that look at all.

"I see you managed to escape me," Nineteen said. "Consider yourself lucky at the moment for it will not happen again. Next time I will drain you of all of your energy."

Trunks refused to show his shock at the admission from his opponent. So this guy had a technique that could drain him of his ki. He'd have to be more careful then or next time could prove to be his last. "So you used a technique on me. Fine then, you won't be able to use it again. I'll just tire you out so you can't use it."

Nineteen broke out in laughter. "You are a fool. I am not like the others where I will tire out."

This time, Trunks showed his surprise. "What are you talking about?"

Smirking again, Nineteen began to explain. "Due to modifications from our leader, everyone of the Twenty Chairs is known as a cyborg; a half human, half machine. All except for me. I am completely mechanical and therefore do not required rest."

Trunks' eyes widen. "You're…you're an android?"

"That is correct. And with the energy I have stolen from you, I shall make short work of you and drain what is left of your energy."

Unleashing a war cry, Nineteen rushed at Trunks faster than what he had expected, nailing him with a vicious right hook, and sending the saiyan flying. Instead of killing his momentum, Trunks took over his unintended flight, speeding up. As he looked back from where he had come, he saw Nineteen again charging at him.

Not waiting for his opponent to reach him, Trunks fired a ki blast, the beam racing towards his charging opponent. However, Nineteen reach both of his hands out and caught the blast, absorbing all of it while he continued his flight.

Trunks watched shocked as Nineteen sucked up his ki blast like a sponge before blasting off higher into the air, arching, and flying right down on him, slamming his large ass into him and sending the saiyan down towards the ground.

Once again, Trunks got a hold of himself and used his momentum, making a U-turn and flying right back at his opponent, who was charging again. Twisting his body, Trunks avoided a punch from the android, counterattacking with his one punch that landed on his opponent's face. Fazed a little, Nineteen backed off a bit to right himself before launching a barrage of punches at Trunks, who in turn threw as many punches as he could.

Unfortunately, Nineteen managed to get the upper hand, landing a blow in the saiyan's gut. Quickly, the android threw a roundhouse kick that sent his opponent flying. Using his speed, he disappeared, reappearing a few yards in front of the flying saiyan, both of his hands clasped together and raised above his head. Timing it perfectly, Nineteen jackhammered his saiyan opponent on the face, causing Trunks to fly straight into a mountain below, the rocky outcrop collapsing from the impact.

Minutes passed before Trunks stumble out of the debris. He was taking more damage than he thought he would and at the rate the fight was going, his chances of surviving weren't that good.

Suddenly, a fist slammed right into his stomach, causing the saiyan to lose his breath and fall to his knees. Holding his gut in pain, Trunks slowly looked up at the towering Nineteen when the clown's foot hit the saiyan under his chin, causing him to fly off the ground and hover in midair before his opponent.

Nineteen landed another punch in Trunks' midsection, once again causing air to rush out of his lungs, spit and blood flying out of his mouth as well.

This time, however, before the saiyan could land on the ground again, Nineteen caught the young man, grabbing the shoulder strap of Trunks' armor. Looking up into the android's eyes, Trunks could see the mechanical nightmare had something bad planned in his mind.

And the young saiyan wasn't disappointed, unfortunately. Nineteen immediately began a ferocious beating, slamming his fist into Trunks' face and stomach; pain coursing throughout the warrior's body. He wasn't even able to cry out as each punch landed harder than the one before, hitting sooner and sooner. After awhile, the android released his hold on the armor strap, letting Trunks fall to the ground, blood dripping from his mouth and wounds.

After a few moments, Trunks tried to get off the ground, turning his head to look up at the cruel android. It was then a hand latched right onto his mouth, muffling any sound that escaped from Trunks' mouth. He soon found himself being lifted into the air by the arm attached to the hand, the familiar feeling of ki being sucked from him becoming apparent.

"I have you now," the high pitched voice of Nineteen said. "You may struggle if you wish but I will not let go until I have stolen all of your energy."

Weakly, Trunks raised his arms to grasp the android's arm, trying to pull it off and failing. So this was his end, the way he was going to die. What a rotten way to go; a machine sucking the life out of you. There couldn't be a dishonor lower for a saiyan warrior than this.

As the young warrior closed his eyes in surrender, a coldness enveloping him; he suddenly felt a warmth flow through him. Odd he thought. Wasn't death supposed to be cold?

(Open your eyes) a rough voice said.

'Huh? What was that?' Trunks thought. This dying experience was getting weirder and weirder by the second.

(Open your eyes)

'What the hell?' Trunks thought this time. Couldn't that voice just let him die in peace? Well, he might as well see what it wanted. It's not like it matter anymore.

Opening his eyes, the young saiyan didn't find himself on a battlefield with a super powerful android sucking the life out of him. Instead, a purple haze dominated everything around him. What was this place?

(It's about time you opened your eyes) the voice said this time, slightly peeved. Looking around, Trunks laid eyes on a man that struck a chord in him.

Floating a short distance away was a fellow saiyan, covered only in spandex pants with his tail wrapped around his waist. His defined arms crossed over his chest as his eyes looked at the younger saiyan; his flame like hair standing in the air.

"Who are you?" Trunks asked, staring at mysterious man. He couldn't put his finger on it but he could swear he had seen him before.

(There is no time for that; you must fight) was all he said.

"What do you mean fight? Can't you see that android was killing me? Were you not watching?" Trunks shouted back, becoming agitated. Who did this guy think he was anyway? A Super Saiyan or something? Ha, as if one of those even existed.

However, the man replied as if he hadn't even heard Trunks. (You are a saiyan warrior with the blood of a prince flowing through your veins. You cannot fall in such a place)

That phrase struck Trunks silent. He had heard something very similar when he was younger. Could it be?

(You must reclaim the honor of your people, the honor of a saiyan warrior. Long you have struggled to this end and you mustn't let that goal die; not here, not now. Even as we speak, the people that have placed their hope in you and your comrades grows. They are reclaiming your birthright, one that you must take back from the scum that has stolen it from you. Draw your sword young warrior and fight for what is rightfully yours)

Trunks felt himself lift his hand to his sword hilt, grasping it. Was this what this man was telling him?

(Go now. Fight to the bitter end and you shall be victorious. And remember: you are not alone…)

The man soon faded into the haze, disappearing from sight. Yet, Trunks could not bring himself to try and follow him. He felt at peace with himself.

Then a rush hit him, returning him to his current predicament. Nineteen still held him as he drained him of his energy, smirking at his handiwork. Well, not for long…

Instantly, Trunks shot one of his hands to his sword, pulling it out of its scabbard and slicing off the android's forearm, the hand still grasping his face.

Nineteen let out a loud cry of pain as wires spouted from his open limb. As soon as his feet hit the ground, Trunks removed the hand from his face and dashed at the pain succumbed android and severed the other arm, firmly disarming his opponent.

Looking at his damaged appendages in pain and horror, his attention to his situation was distracted as his saiyan opponent spoke. "Tell me something android…do machines feel fear?"

Slowly taking steps backwards, Nineteen tried to put some distance between him and his adversary. There was no way he stood a chance with both of his hands removed, much less without his energy absorbers. He needed to escape fast.

Turning on his heels, the frightened android bolted; hoping against hope he could flee with his life. However, the sudden feel of metal sliced right through him, cutting him in half from head to toe; part of him drifting forward, the other back.

Standing in front of him, was Trunks, bent over from successful cutting down his opponent; but he wasn't done just yet. Quickly turning around, the swordsman sliced and hacked at his opponent until only bits and pieces of the android seem to float and revolve in midair. Crossing his sword arm in front of his chest, Trunks brought his other arm underneath his sword arm, his palm sticking out with his fingers standing straight, his thumb curled into the palm. Unleashing a war cry, a large ki blast fired from the saiyan's hand, obliterating any and all remains of Nineteen.

As the dust cleared, Trunks fell to the ground, landing on his butt. If all the fights on this planet were this tough, he was gonna need a lot of help. Pulling out his senzu bean, the saiyan ate it and waited for the healing effects to occur. Momentarily, his body was restored, his power increasing greatly. That was the only good thing to come out of the battle, having his power restored and increased due to his saiyan genes.

Taking a deep breath, Trunks stood up and spread his senses out. As far as he could tell, a couple of the powers he felt earlier had been put out, both Gohan and Goten on the move. That was good news. Hmmm, there were a couple of decent power levels where Gohan was headed. That seemed to be the best place to go.

Taking off into the air, Trunks flew with new speed, courtesy of his recovered body. Yet, despite his victory, that dream he had was starting to bug him. If he didn't know any better, that mysterious man he had met was his father, but that was crazy. He was dead. Short of Trunks dying, there was no way he should've seen the man. Maybe his mind was playing tricks on him. Yeah, that was it; just his mind playing tricks.

Shaking his head to get rid of those thoughts, the young saiyan headed towards his next opponent, ready to take on what he would find there.

* * *

It was finally time.

After countless hours of preparation and waiting, the biggest attack since the Saiyo-Earthling War was about to happen. Raditz was watching as three huge jet carriers landed on the ground, slowly driving towards cement docks. Large warehouses stood a few yards away from the docks' edge; their doors wide open. Soldiers stood at attention, preparing to empty the ships of their cargo and men before reloading with useless equipment and discharged soldiers.

As Raditz watched the scene unfolding before him, he got a rush of excitement, adrenaline flowing throughout his body. The anticipation for this one, single event had nearly killed him, along with the other saiyan warriors. Even the saiyan women were participating in this. Though their society would rather have the women away from combat, they were still considered warriors in their own right. Nothing would have kept them from this battle.

Silently, Broly appeared next to the shaggy haired saiyan. "Everything is in place. All we have to do is wait for the right moment now."

Raditz nodded his confirmation. "We'll follow your lead."

Broly didn't respond. He just kept his attention at the sight unfolding. The carriers had finally reached the docks, their hatches opening. Once the doors had open, soldiers from within the shuttles and surrounding the docks began to unload the vessels.

"On my mark, I want everyone here to fire their strongest attack at the nearest shuttle. Understood?" Broly ordered. Although the only two saiyans at present were Raditz and himself, other saiyans within hearing distance caught the order.

Slowly standing up, Broly gathered his ki, Raditz copying his actions soon after. With a war cry, the taller saiyan fired his blast, Raditz once again following his action. Several more ki blasts followed as each beam hit the closest carrier, causing it to explode.

Flames engulfed everything. Men screamed as they were burned alive. In that instant, the base was swarmed with saiyans. Buildings were destroyed as each carrier was attacked and destroyed. None of the human soldiers were able to use their weapons as they were struck down instantly.

It was barely twenty minutes from the initial strike that the humans surrendered, throwing down their weapons and raising their hands in hope to invoke the code of the saiyan warriors. Though reluctant, the saiyans took all survivors prisoner, holding them in one of the few unharmed buildings.

Jubilation was running rampant within the saiyan ranks. They had just struck a serious blow to the human control over Vegeta. It was now just a matter of time before they held the planet in their control once more. If everything went right, they'd even have crippled any response the humans could make, thanks to their men on the way to Earth.

Freedom was now within reach.

* * *

To dbzfan952: Thanks, it may not be a big deal for some authors but any milestone is something to think about, like keeping records. Yep, you guessed it from the beginning. I don't know what it is with you reviewers but ya'll have like a sixth sense or something whenever you want to predict whats going on in my head. No wonder I'm paranoid. And yay, I managed to cover all bases. Whew, that was close. Now to do the infamous DBZ narrator ending, "Stay tune for more Dragonball Z." 


	28. Suffer

And with this chapter, I meet my next milestone: my first 100,000 word story. I have to give props to all those writers that seem to do it easily. Geez, took me 28 chapters and they do that with less than half. If I didn't know any better, and I don't, I'd say they know exactly what to write about and all that good stuff.

* * *

Rocky mountains dotted the desert landscape as Goten and Tien flew through the skies. Shortly after leaving Videl and Erasa to their "mission," the two warriors had been heading off to the next fight, ready to take down whoever they found there. While they had been traveling, the young saiyan had managed to get the whole story from Tien as to why he and his female companions had been so close to the lake. 

"So we're pretty much on our own side, unless you and your comrades decide to welcome us," Tien said as he finished his tale. While it wasn't the most exciting subject, it was still something to pass the time with.

"And what of Satan?" Goten asked. "Did he never arrive back at the house or something?"

"I don't know," the bodyguard replied. "He was a bit late as to his return time though."

"He's probably dead," Goten stated.

"Dead? What gives you that idea?" Tien asked surprised

The young saiyan looked towards Tien. "I've dealt with your people all of my life. If there was ever someone that didn't return from a raid, it was most likely that they were dead. If someone did show up, it was a miracle; otherwise ya'll killed any saiyan that came in sight."

Tien got a sad look. "It's a shame then. Videl isn't going to take that well."

Goten, however, showed no sympathy. "This is war. You're government has destroyed billions of lives, broken up countless families; that girl is just another nameless face amongst the masses of victims, she'll have to get use to it like everyone else."

The three eyed man glared at the young saiyan. "How can you say that? He's still a person."

"Where was your sympathy when my father was killed? Mine was killed by a traitor among my people, just like Satan. The difference was that the government betrayed him, not some pathetic man."

Tien quickly looked away. He knew exactly who Goten was talking about, even meeting the man in person. While he wasn't losing sleep at night because of Turles' death, it was quite a different thing to be flying next to a victim of the man's shady dealings.

"Kinda got quiet there. Something up?" Goten suddenly asked.

Collecting himself, Tien calmly replied "It's nothing. I'm sorry to hear about your father."

"It doesn't matter; it was a long time ago. At least now I can do something to honor his sacrifice."

"I understand."

For a few moments the two remained silent, each deep in their own thoughts. That didn't last long, however, as a ki blast flew out of nowhere to strike them. Both warriors dodged the attack and dropped into defensive stances as soon as they could.

"You missed them. You're gonna have to work on your aim a bit, dear," a smooth feminine voice said.

"He he, sorry about that honey. I'll hit them next time," a deep, croaking voice replied embarrassed.

Staring down towards the rocky mountains, two figures stood on top of one of the giant rock formations. A tall blond woman stood there, her arms crossed over her striped shirt. Blue jeans covered her long legs. Next to the woman was a shorter black haired man. The mass of hair looked odd on his head, along with his noseless face. A red shirt and wristbands covered his top half as grey pants covered his bottom. Who were these people?

"Of all of the people we run into, it had to be them," Tien said, staring at the two with distaste.

Keeping his eyes on the two mysterious people, Goten asked "You know these people?"

"Unfortunately yes. The short man is Krillen Chestnut, a martial artist of the Turtle school; a rival of my own school. The woman next to him is Hatchi Chestnut, his wife and Eighteenth chair of the Earth's government," Tien answered, disgust evident in his voice.

"So the woman is a government person? That's great!" Goten said, getting excited.

Tien looked at the happy saiyan surprised. "What do you mean great? These are two of the last people you want to run into."

Instead, Goten said "These were the power levels I was heading for. At least now I don't have to look around for them anymore."

"You were looking for them!?" Tien shouted. "We're talking about a government official, not some lizard thing!"

"You obviously don't know saiyans very well," the young saiyan replied. "The better the fight, the more battle crazy we become. It's time to kick some human ass." At the end of the sentence, Goten dropped from the sky until he landed on a mountain a little ways away from Hatchi and Krillen, Tien joining him soon after.

"What's this? A saiyan?" Hatchi said, finally recognizing the young man before her.

"And that looks like Tien with him. What's that guy doing with a saiyan?" Krillen piped up.

As Hatchi and Krillen analyzed the warriors in front of them, Goten and Tien worked on their battle strategy. "So how do you want to attack?' Tien asked. "Take one of them down quickly and the work over the other? Or should we just do a free for all?"

"I want to fight the woman. She's the stronger of the two," Goten responded. "I think you should handle the short guy easily right?"

The bodyguard smirked. "He'll be easy enough. But you sure you want to take Hatchi on all by yourself? I can join you after I'm finished with Krillen."

"Don't interfere. If I'm gonna die here, I want to die without a crutch," Goten said. "If I do fall, you can finish the job."

"I don't really like that plan but I'll do it. Just don't get killed."

"Don't worry, I won't."

"So we just charge them right?"

"That should be fine. Just take off after I do; they won't expect me to knock the girl away, so you should be able to hit the little guy with his guard down."

Tien nodded. "Alright then, shall we start?"

Goten smirked. "Yep."

Without even waiting for Tien to reply, the young saiyan launched into the air and charged at the two fighters before him, both of them with their attention on each other. They never knew what was happening until Goten slammed right into Hatchi, sending her flying through the air with the saiyan hot on her trail. Before Krillen could react to help his wife, he was nailed by a right hook by Tien, sending him off in a different direction.

When Hatchi managed to recover herself in midair, she was immediately hit again, this time being sent into the ground, dust being kicked into the air as she crashed into the earth.

Floating above the dust cloud, Goten smirked. He might have overestimated this girl. He was pushing her around so far; not much a fight if you asked him.

Down in the crater, Hatchi berated herself for dropping her guard. This wasn't a normal fighter she could brush off; he was a saiyan, a trained warrior. She'd have to be more careful than usual. Standing up, she held her arms up, aimed at her opponent, unleashing a barrage of ki blasts at him.

Seeing the blasts heading towards him, Goten used a burst of speed to dodge the attack, reappearing behind Hatchi, grabbing her shoulders and planting his knee in her back.

Hatchi let out a cry of pain as she felt the knee slam into her back a couple more times before her saiyan opponent hit her in the head with a roundhouse kick, sending her flying across the plain. Once again she recovered, but she managed to block Goten's charge, counterattacking quicker than the saiyan expected.

Fortunately, he blocked the sudden attack, reacting with a flurry of punches which Hatchi blocked, sending her own barrage at him. For awhile, both fighters launched punch after punch and kick after kick at each other, always blocking the blows, dust being kicked up from their fight.

Then they both separated, jumping away from each other. Once Hatchi landed on the ground, she raised both hands again and fired a ki blast. Goten dodged the blast and started to run, avoiding another blast as it was fired at him. Hatchi continued to send blast after blast after her saiyan opponent, each beam hitting behind him as dirt was kicked up and mountains were destroyed. Just as Goten ran behind on mountain, he disappeared, leaving the large rock to get decimated by his opponent.

Hatchi stopped firing, just standing there with her arms stretched out. Her eyes scanned the surrounding area. Nothing seemed to be jumping at her yet, but it was only a matter of time before the saiyan launched another attack. She'd just have to beat him to the punch then.

Lowering her hands down, she balled one of them into a fist; the other sticking a little away from her body, her hand remaining flat. Slowly, she gathered her ki until she had the right amount, but she refused to let it form. She'd wait until the last possible moment.

Suddenly, she felt the saiyan's ki jump behind her. She knew exactly where he was. Immediately, she formed her gathered energy into a disk that floated above her hand. Swinging her body around, she threw the disk; the disk flying towards a mountain and cutting it in half diagonally. Slowly, the top half slid off its base, revealing Goten, a scratch on his cheek with blood slowly dripping from it.

An astonished look was on his face for awhile until he lifted his hand to touch his face, smearing the blood on it. He hadn't expected that to happen. That disk had come out of nowhere. Maybe he had underestimated this girl.

There was a stillness for a few moments until two loud war cries sounded off, followed by the sound of fists colliding with each other. As each fighter threw their strongest punches, Krillen soon tired of the stalemate disappeared, reappearing behind Tien and threw a roundhouse kick, which the three eyed man flipped over and kicked the back of the short man's head, making contact, and sending him into a mountain.

Floating in midair as Goten had done before him, Tien watched the crumbling rocky mass, waiting for Krillen to launch another attack. Despite having the upper hand currently, the fight had been much more even than the bodyguard had thought it would be. The man's skills had improved greater than expected somehow. After the former monk had met Hatchi, he had left the Turtle school, believing he hadn't needed anymore lessons from Master Roshi, or at least that's how Yamcha had seen it before he came over to the Crane school. Though a rival of Crane, Tien respected the old martial artist's skill. How Krillen could disregard it as he had done was beyond him.

And like expected, Krillen came rushing out of the debris, both of his hands balled into fists. Flying backwards while facing his opponent, Tien maintained his distance until he had gathered enough ki for his next attack. Pointing his finger at Krillen, Tien cried out his attack "Dodon Ray," the beam racing towards his charging opponent.

However, the attack went right through Krillen, an image of him slowly fading away. Before Tien could react, he felt a knee ram into his face, sending him flying. Soon a barrage of ki blasts hit him, exploding on contact and burning him.

As he managed to recover himself, Tien landed on a rocky mountain, breathing a little heavy, keeping himself on guard as he stared at Krillen, who had also landed on a mountain. "You've been keeping yourself in top shape Tien," the monk called out.

"So have you," the three eyed bodyguard replied. "Better than I thought you would be."

Scratching the back of his head, grinning, Krillen responded "Well, I have to thank Hatchi for that. She wouldn't let me slack off if I was gonna stay with her. Heck, she's taught me more than even old man Roshi could've."

Tien scowled. "You shouldn't have left him like you did. Have you no respect for your teacher?"

"Hey, if you had a chance with Hatchi, you would've done the same thing. And it doesn't matter anymore; Roshi's dead."

Tien's eyes widened. "Dead? When did that happen?"

Though a bit sad, Krillen answered "A few weeks ago. He was becoming a threat to the government and was killed."

"He was your teacher, your mentor! How could you've stood aside and let him die like that?" the bodyguard demanded, anger laced in his voice.

"We all take risks in our lives and Roshi's risk ended up being his last. And speaking of risks, what are you, of all people, doing with a saiyan?"

"Cause he's the only one here fighting for the right reason. He's probably the only one here that has any honor."

Krillen let out a laugh. "You're telling me a blood thirsty saiyan has more honor than us? You're being delusional. We all know they would've attacked us sooner or later. We were just the ones to strike first."

What ever kind feeling Tien still had for the man was thrown away. Obviously he had allowed his first lay to corrupt him with the same propaganda that the government feed the rest of the people. "Well, it doesn't matter now. The saiyans are here to show you what it's like to fight real warriors."

Krillen hesitated a bit. "Saiyans? You mean there are more of them here?"

"You bet, each one stronger than the last. While you've been living it up here on Earth, they've been growing stronger and stronger, just so they could fight you on your home turf. Even if you and that blond bimbo do defeat us here, another one will fight you and be your downfall."

Krillen's fists tightened. "Don't you dare call Hatchi a bimbo," he said through clinched teeth.

Tien took note of that. It looked like the monk had a problem with insults to his wife. That could be useful later. "Well, then prove to me that you've gotten stronger monk. Prove you're as strong as you claim to be."

"Fine then!" the short man cried out. Cupping his hands together and bringing them to a side, a blue orb immediately appeared in his hands. Thrusting them in front of him, he yelled out the name of his attack before firing it, "Kamehameha!"

The blue beam raced from the monk as it headed for its target. His eyes widening, Tien leapt into the air, dodging the blast as it consumed everything in its path, an explosion erupting when it couldn't maintain its stability.

However, Tien was ready for a surprise attack and not getting disappointed as Krillen appeared, throwing a barrage of punches and kicks; the bodyguard returning the barrage with his own as both humans attacked each other fiercely.

Goten, however, wasn't having as much luck. Charging Hatchi, the saiyan threw a punch, which she dodged, and imbedded her own fist in his face; another punch planting itself in his gut, bending him over as air, spit, and blood flew out of his mouth; and finally a palm slamming into his face, sending him into a mountain, coming out the other side of it as it fell apart, and skidding on the ground for several feet.

Shaking as he picked himself up, Goten ached all over. There weren't too many places on his body that didn't have a throbbing pain in it. Somehow this human girl had gotten the upper hand on him and hadn't relinquished it since. If things kept up like they were, he wouldn't be living too much longer.

Goten shook his head. He needed to get those negative thoughts out of his head. They wouldn't do anything but effect how he fought and that wasn't something he could afford at that moment. He'd beat this blond bitch down, no ifs, ands, or buts.

Managing to climb to his feet, the young saiyan swung himself around, only to see an outstretched arm clothesline him, knocking him back to the ground.

"Is this the strength of the saiyan race? Pathetic," Hatchi said. To emphasize her point, she kicked the crippled saiyan in the stomach, sending him skidding again, soon rolling on the ground, cries of pain coming from his mouth.

After awhile, Goten managed to quiet himself down. If he ever got his hands on that bitch, he would make her beg for mercy from the pains he would cause her. He just needed to get an advantage now, before he couldn't do anything then be a punching bag. Getting to his feet again, the saiyan floated up into the air, hoping to change the location of the battle.

Turning to look at his opponent, he saw her flying straight for him, a small smile on her face. Breathing heavily, Goten waited until he saw Hatchi pull her fist back and throw it at him. Dodging it, the young saiyan stuck his hand at her and fired a ki blast at her, blowing her away.

As she tumbled through the air, Goten charged her as fast as he could, passing her, striking her with his knee in her gut when she reached him, and then jackhammering her in the back, sending her flying into the ground. Even if he was beaten all over, he would still get his licks in.

Hatchi soon appeared again, looking up at the saiyan. "That was a pretty good shot you had there," she called up to him. "But unfortunately for you, I didn't take too much damage from it. You're going to have to do better than that."

Goten growled. This was just getting to be too much. It seemed like no matter what he did, this human could outmatch him. It was infuriating.

Just as he was about to launch into another attack, the saiyan paused. He knew that Hatchi just wanted to rile him up and cause him to make a big mistake, one he couldn't afford to make. He needed to be smart here. So far nothing was working, so he needed a stronger attack. Unfortunately, the only attack he could think of was his new finishing move and he needed to make sure she would at least let herself get hit by it before he could really do some damage to her. Maybe if he let her push him around some more, he could pull it off…

"Okay lady, if you're as strong as you say you are, you really don't need to be taunting me. Prove you can take me down."

Hatchi just stared at him before smiling. "As you wish young one."

Suddenly she disappeared, reappearing right in front on him while trying to uppercut him. Goten managed to block the attack and counterattacked. Hatchi twirled out of the way of the punch, still spinning through the air until she roundhouse kicked her saiyan opponent, sending him flying. She wasn't done just yet with him though. Gathering her ki, she fired at blast at him, expecting it to hit and kill the boy.

However, Goten recovered enough to maneuver himself to kick the blast away, taking off to put distance between him and his opponent.

Hatchi just watched with amusement as she saw the saiyan flee. She'd show him that he couldn't run from her even if she wanted him to.

Landing behind a mountain, Goten panted heavily. He was getting tired which wasn't a good thing, his body was still in pain, and it didn't look like he wasn't causing any damage whatsoever. Those were three things that didn't add up to victory. It was now or never if he wanted to defeat this girl. Concentrating, the saiyan gathered his ki slowly, so that Hatchi wouldn't detect that he was up to something. Just as long as she didn't suspect that he was preparing something, everything would be okay.

Suddenly, a tapping sound caught his ears. The more he listened to it, the more it sounded like it was nearby. Sensing the area around, Goten paled when he discovered Hatchi's ki on the other side of the rock. How could she have found him so soon?

Dashing off, the young saiyan moved all over the terrain, hoping to lose Hatchi. However, when he came to a stop, he saw Hatchi had just been waiting for him, sitting on top of one of the mountains. With her legs crossed, her elbows pressed into them as her hands held up her head, the blond woman gave a small smile. "It's about time you got here."

Goten rushed away, coming to a stop right in the open, turning around to watch his opponent. Enough stalling, it was time to enact his last card.

Hatchi leapt off the mountain, landing on the ground, and walking towards the saiyan. She had been amused by the little boy's antics, but it was time to finish this runt off. She had other things to do.

Getting into his stance, Goten hid his cupped hands from Hatchi's sight. He was intent on not letting her see what he was planning to do. If she had any contact with that Cell guy from earlier, she would probably recognize the technique he was about to do. Not an advantage he was willing to give her.

"Kaa…mee…" the saiyan chanted, gathering more ki to his collection. "Haa…meeee…"

Hatchi started on in amusement. She couldn't tell what Goten was up to but it didn't matter. It wasn't like he could do anything to harm her now. Though that stance looked a bit familiar.

Finally, Goten threw all caution to the wind, allowing the assemble ki to form in his hands, the orb encompassing them. This bitch was going to die now…

Thrusting his arms out in front of him, Goten cried out the last word of the chant, unleashing the blast, "HAAAAAAA!"

A large blue blast erupted from the saiyan, racing towards its surprised target. Hatchi was astonished that this kid knew her husband's technique. How he had learned it was beyond her, but she knew she was in trouble if she couldn't stop it. Catching the beam at the last second, Hatchi poured all of her strength into stopping the attack while she was being slowly pushed backwards.

Watching as his blast was slowly being stopped, Goten growled. He didn't have much energy left and what little ki he had reserved, in case this didn't work, was all he had left. Oh well, if this didn't finish the job, then he was dead anyway. Ridding himself of any reservation, Goten poured his remaining power into the beam.

The energy rushed down the beam's path, crashing into the obstacle that was holding it back. Losing her balance from the sudden push, Hatchi was swept off her feet and carried by that blast, flying across the terrain. As she was consumed by the attack, Hatchi screamed in pain, her person being pushed faster and faster until the blast exploded, obliterating her from this world.

As Goten watched the explosion, and felt Hatchi's ki signal disappeared, he smiled in victory and fell backwards, hitting the ground hard. Laying there spread eagle, the young saiyan could rest easy now.

His fight was finally over.

* * *

To DragonGirl: Thanks. You got it, no letting up. 

To dbzfan952: Wow, didn't think it was that good but I'll take it. And I did like that dream sequence too. Hopefully, I can get this thing finished in the next few chapters.


	29. Right Here

"Hatchi!" Krillen cried as he saw the explosion, feeling his wife's ki disappearing within it. This couldn't be happening. Hatchi couldn't be dead, she just couldn't be. The monk could feel himself choking up as his sorrow overwhelmed him. However, that sadness soon became rage. He wouldn't let this horrible thing happen without retribution.

As anger began to consume him, a ki blast nailed him in the back, burning him as he gave out a cry of pain. Turning around, he scowled at Tien as he floated in the air, his hand sticking out as it pointed at him.

"You should always keep your guard up, even if a comrade falls," the bodyguard called out.

"What do you care?! She was my wife you bastard!" the short man cried out.

"She wasn't your wife," Tien said. "You were just a puppy and she was your master. She only put up with you cause you knocked her up."

"You're just jealous! You could never have a girl like her!"

"Why would I want a girl like her? You didn't know anything about her and you dropped your mentor, your training, and any friends you had just for her. There's nothing there to be jealous about."

"Shut up!" Krillen screamed. Raising his hand over his head, he immediately gathered his ki and formed it into a disk. "Destructo Disk!" he cried out before throwing it.

Seeing the attack flying at him, Tien fired a ki blast at it, only to see the disk slicing right through it like butter. Surprised, the fighter barely managed to dodge it at the last second, his shirt getting cut as the disk passed by.

After watching it flying into the distance, Tien turned his attention back to the grief stricken Krillen, who was preparing another Destructo Disk. In the present state of mind the monk was in, the bodyguard couldn't afford to have the sky filled with those dangerous things. It was time to put Krillen down once and for all.

Sticking his hands to the side of his face, the palms facing towards him, Tien gathered his ki and unleashed it in a bright flash that lit up the sky. "Solar Flare!"

As the intense light encompassed everything, Krillen took it head on, his eyes being blinded. Losing his grip on his ki, the forming Destructo Disk fell apart, the short man's hands going to his injured eyes to rub the pain out of them. Every time he tried to opening his eyes, the burning whiteness caused him to close them again. When he could see again, he would make the three eyed freak pay for that.

Using Krillen's momentary blindness, Tien flew higher into the air, getting into a vantage point above and behind the monk. Forming his hands into a familiar triangle sign, Tien was letting up all the stops. He was going to insure his former comrade in the martial arts wouldn't be leaving this battlefield ever again.

As the whiteness slowly cleared up, revealing the dead brown and yellow of the desert wasteland and the grey deadness of the sky, Krillen was finally ready to fight again. Looking around as he floated, the monk tried to locate his opponent, failing to find him. Now where could that bastard have gone?

"Hey Krillen!" Tien's voice rang out, alerting the man to his target's location. Turning around and looking up, he saw the three eyed man floating there with his hands before him. Now was his chance to strike. Quickly, Krillen powered up another Destructo Disk, this one intending on finishing the bald man off.

Before Krillen could carry that plan off though, Tien launched his attack. "Tribeam Ha!"

Instantly, the monk felt a powerful force slam into him, sending him flying into the ground, imbedding him in it as the earth crumbled and clustered around him.

Not letting up, Tien fired another one with the simple command of "Ha!" the blast pushing its target deeper into the earth, blood flying out of his mouth as he tried to scream in pain.

"Ha….Ha……Ha……Ha…Ha!" Tien cried out as he fired Tribeam after Tribeam. His energy pouring into each blast, crushing Krillen and pounding him deeper and deeper into the ground. Sometime during the barrage, the short man's chest was crushed, destroying the internal organs beneath the bones, slowly killing him.

When Tien finally ended his attack due to lack of energy, his arms felt to his side, hanging limply as he hunched over. That took a lot out of him, but hopefully that would be the end of a man he once respected.

Looking around the area weekly, the bodyguard spotted Goten lying on the ground. If he remembered right, he had used a powerful Kamehameha Wave to defeat Hatchi. It was still amazing he could do such a thing considering that the saiyan had just learned the technique mere hours ago.

Floating over to him, Tien landed a couple feet next to his ally. "I see you actually beat her."

It was awhile but Goten answered back. "Yeah, it took a bit more than I thought it would," he said through heavy gasps of air.

"You think you can keep going?" Tien asked.

"Later. Right now I just want to stay right here. Too tired to budge a muscle."

Tien chuckled a bit as he sat on the ground. "I hear ya. Mind if I joined you here?"

"Nope, find yourself a comfy piece of ground and enjoy it."

* * *

This was humiliating.

After ten years of wondering the universe after being cast off Vegeta, King Baby had the luck to run into a small group of those Kami forsaken saiyans, had them completely surrounded and practically at King Yemma's door; but instead loses them due to an interfering force. If there was ever a low point for the monarch, this was it.

His fearsome space force had been decimated by the Earth forces. Although he had caused them damage, they had caught him by surprise and ripped him apart. However, he wasn't done with these Earthlings. He'd be back with a stronger force and annihilate those pests. He'd show them what happens when you messed with the Tuffle Ruler.

Baby smirked. That was what he needed to do. It would take a little time, but he would succeed. Maybe even take Earth as his own to give his race a better home than the planet the Tuffles had right now.

"Lord Baby," a soldier said, slightly alarmed.

"What is it?" the shrill voice said, agitation creeping into his voice. He wasn't in the best of moods right now and was just one nerve away from killing the first person he snapped at.

"We've come in contact with another force, my lord," the Tuffle said.

"So? Just ignore them."

"We can't my lord. The opposing ships won't let allow us to do that."

"I said ignore them and continue on our present course!" Baby shouted. He would not have his rule challenged by some subordinate.

However, before the soldier could carry out his order, the comm. link activated. Soon a reptilian voice came through the ship's speakers. "Unknown space force, under the order of the Cold Empire, I demand you surrender your vessels and be prepared to be detained. That is the order of King Cold."

Baby's eyes widen. Of all of the people he had to run into, it just had to be the Cold family. There was no way he could fight under his current circumstances. There just had to be some way out of this.

"What is your decision my lord," the soldier said.

After wallowing in his thoughts, a defiant look came across the Tuffle King's face. "I want you to blast those lizards into the next dimension. Take them all out!"

Baby knew this was a losing cause. However, death was a better choice than to be taken into the custody of the Cold Family. Even if he was killed, he would die spitting in their faces.

The sudden jerking of the ship signified the ship's main cannon had been fired. Now was the time to see whether the Tuffle race could withstand the awesome might of the Cold Empire.

* * *

It was cold here. Of all of the places for one of the powerful kis to head to, it had chosen this frozen wasteland. When Trunks got his hands on the guy, he was going to be sure he had a word about this. Whether that word would be verbal or with his fists had yet to be determined, but the young saiyan was leaning towards the latter.

Then sudden spike in a nearby ki caught Trunks' attention, pulling him out of his thoughts. All he knew was that the person he was looking for was close. How close he didn't know, but instead of flying in the middle of the sky like a sitting duck, the young saiyan decided to land on an ice cliff. Standing towards the edge, the warrior took in the sight around him.

Everything was white from snow or ice. Canyons and mountains dotted the landscape with a large plain of ice right in the middle of it. Towards his right, a large sea with icebergs reached out towards the horizon. It wasn't much of a place to look at, but it would be an interesting battleground. Now all he had to do was locate the guy he was sure he would be fighting.

The young saiyan didn't have to wait very long as he soon spotted a man walking on the plain, his back towards the young man. Well, might as well get the fight over with.

Floating from his perch, Trunks headed towards the mystery man, landing a few feet behind him. From what he could see of the guy, he was very tall with long white hair. He seemed underdressed with his yellow vest and green pants, but then, it was his choice to dress like that, even in the freezing weather of this place.

"Are you one of the cyborgs?" Trunks asked, keeping his guard up in case of any unexpected attack.

It was some time before there was a response. "So ya know about our little secret," the man said with a southern accent, never turning around to look at the saiyan. "Where d'ya hear that from?"

"An android called Nineteen told me. Ya know him?" Trunks said, imitating the man's accent.

"Well that makes sense. So Pops managed to make one of those robot guys," the man said, not giving any attention to Trunks. Suddenly, he turned his head to look at the saiyan, revealing his blue eyes. "So I take it you killed the robot?"

Trunks smirked. "Yeah, I did. So what should I call you?"

Completely turning around, the man said "I'm the Thirteenth chair of the government here, Tretton Gero."

Trunks cocked his eyebrow. That's a weird name you got there."

Tretton smirked. "It's better than some dirty monkey name. But then, I don't know what it's like to have one of those."

Trunks scowled this time. "Big words for a bucket of bolts. Can you back that up?"

"You're darn right I can back it up. You won't be able to handle what I'm gonna do to ya."

However, before Tretton could drop into his fighting stance, he felt a fist suddenly slam into his stomach, causing him to lose his breath as he hunched over. A roundhouse kick nailing him in the head sent him skidding on the snow and ice.

Trunks looked at the fallen cyborg. That was pathetic. If this was one of the top warriors on the planet, then these humans should give up. There was almost no point in resisting.

However, the recent memory of Nineteen told him not to underestimate another Earthling. Who knew what this guy was or was not capable of.

Slowly, Tretton got back on to his feet. "That was a good whopper," he said. "Now it's my turn."

Suddenly, the cyborg disappeared, reappearing in midair, right in front of Trunks. Slamming his knee into the saiyan's face, Tretton didn't let the warrior fly too far away, grabbing him by the ankles, and swinging him through the air and smashing him into the icy ground. However, Trunks wouldn't let the man continue his attack, twising his body around and firing a ki blast into the guy's chest, sending him flying through the air.

Getting back onto his feet, Trunks looked as he saw his opponent landing on his feet, not even winded from the direct attack. This guy was a lot stronger than he had given him credit for. He'd have to keep his guard up, that's for sure.

Yelling out a war cry, the saiyan charged his opponent, swinging his fist. Tretton easily dodged, taking a step backwards, a smirk on his face. Not liking that smile, Trunks unleashed a barrage of punches and kicks, each blow being dodged or blocked. If the young saiyan didn't know any better, he'd say this guy was toying with him.

Not liking that scenario at all, Trunks kicked at Tretton's feet, making contact and knocking one of them from underneath the cyborg. Surprised, Tretton stumbled a bit, trying to regain his balance. This time Trunks slammed his head into his opponent's head, hitting dead on, and causing the man to cry out from the blow.

Leaping into the air, the saiyan warrior did a roundhouse kick, nailing Tretton in the head again, and sending him flying. Charging after him, Trunks caught up with the man, flying above him. With his hand, he grabbed Tretton's face, and then slammed his head into the icy ground, shoving him deeper as he used their momentum to continue moving.

Once Trunks felt themselves slowing down, he crouched in midair before smashing his feet into Tretton's chest, both of the saiyan's arms rising into the air. Gathering his ki, the warrior thrusts his arms to the ground, firing ki blasts at his opponent. Once done, he jumped away, watching the last place he saw Tretton.

After a few moments, his opponent emerged from the hole, his clothes torn, his body bruised and burn, and his back to Trunks again. "I have to give ya credit youngster, that was pretty good. But that wasn't enough to take me down."

Turning around, Tretton raised both of his arms, pointing his palms at his saiyan opponent. "Now I have a presents for ya. I hope you like it."

Trunks dropped into a defensive stance. He wasn't sure what this guy had up his sleeve, but he was sure he'd find out sooner or later.

Slowly, the man gathered his ki until a large red ball of energy surrounded by a larger transparent sphere of energy appeared in his hands. "Okay kiddie, get ready for to run for your life cause here comes my S. S. Deadly Bomber!"

Instantly, the attack was fired, making a beeline for the saiyan. Trunks simply dashed to his right, thinking the attack would just pass him. However, he was surprised when he saw the attack turn towards him, homing in on him as if he hadn't moved at all. This was just great; that was a homing attack and from the feel of it, it was a very powerful one.

Still running, Trunks ran towards a cliff, taking flight at the base. Looking behind him, he saw the ball of energy was still following him. There had to be someway to blow it up.

Pointing a hand at the top of the cliff, the saiyan fired a ki blast, the beam blowing the cliff's edge up and raining debris down on him. Catching a very large piece and holding over his head, Trunks twisted his body to face the attack, seeing that it was still chasing him.

Cranking his arms back, Trunks threw the large rock he held; the piece hitting the attack and causing it to explode.

The explosion caught the saiyan off guard, flinging him high into the air. After recovering, Trunks looked around and failed to see Tretton anywhere. Perfect, not only could he not see the guy, he was hiding his ki signal as well.

Suddenly, a ki blast came at him from behind. Spinning around, Trunks swatted the blast away. Once he had completely turned, Tretton appeared behind him; his hands clasped together, and jackhammered his opponent, sending him towards the ground.

"That's a shame. I was startin' to enjoy myself," Tretton called out, watching as the snow cloud from the saiyan's crash dissipate. "Can't blame ya for fallin' short though. It takes a man to do a man's job, not a boy."

In the crater, Trunks was seething. This ass was making a fool out of him. So far his attacks were insanely powerful, not to mention he could take several blows without slowing down. Although he was willing to use his sword, the saiyan refrained from it. It was very likely it wouldn't do any good here, or at least until he weakened the guy more. But what could he do? He didn't have too many strong attacks that would dish out the damage he needed now. Yet, he didn't have too much choice in the matter. Hmm, maybe that wasn't the right thinking here…

It was then an idea struck him. He had an attack he had been working on for the past few months, but hadn't had a chance to use it. If he remembered right, it was very similar to an attack his father had been infamous for. Well, now was his best chance.

Stretching his arms out, his legs getting better footholds, the saiyan gathered his energy, trying to power his attack up as quickly as possible. Hopefully he would have all the energy he would need before his smoke screen disappeared.

Tretton continued to watch the cloud. He didn't know what was going on, but he could feel that the little monkey was up to something; what it was, he didn't know, but he was positive it wouldn't be too bad.

Finally, Trunks felt he had accumulated all the energy he needed. Thrusting his arms above him, he yelled out his attack's name. "Big Tree Cannon!"

Tretton began to frown, he could feel the energy the saiyan was using growing stronger, but for some reason it was doing it faster than it should've been. Then he heard something being shouted and a large golden beam rushing out of the snow cloud, heading directly towards him.

Due to the blast moving very fast, Tretton didn't have the time to get out of the way. Instead, he crossed his arms in front on him, hoping the attack didn't do too much damage.

When the blast collided with its target, a bright flash covered everything in the icy wasteland. Following the flash, a thunderous roar could be heard as a ball of fire erupted in the sky. It took many minutes before the flames died down, smoke covering everything until a cold wind blew it away.

Standing on the round, his arms still pointed up into the sky, Trunks panted heavily. He knew he had used way too much energy, but hopefully that wouldn't matter. As long as Tretton was down for the count, then he wouldn't have to worry.

As he waited, soon Trunks could see where his opponent was last seen; his eyes widening from the sight he saw.

Tretton was still alive. However, something was odd with him. The left side of his face and his left arm were gone, replaced by this dark metal that resembled bone. The rest of him was burned, blood leaking out at random places. His arms were still crossed in front of him; the metal of the left arm gleaming in the sunlight while scattered places on his right showed the same metal. Blood was leaking out of the metal spots, making a very bizarre scene. What the hell was this guy?

Soon, the cyborg dropped his arms and looked down at Trunks, none too pleased. "You little maggot. Look what you did. Now I gotta have Pops replace all of this."

"What…what is that," Trunks managed to speak out, eyes still wide.

This time Tretton smirked. "I see you noticed my skeleton. Had Pops replace my entire bone structure with this here metal, even my skull. Wasn't a very pleasurable operation but the benefits were well worth it."

Trunks scowled. No wonder this guy could take all of his attacks. That metal was absorbing all of the damage he did. It was time to put aside any inhibitions. If his sword couldn't cut through that, then he was dead meat.

"Alright monkey! Ready or not, here I come!" Tretton shouted as he charged at the young saiyan. Trunks didn't move as he watched the incoming monstrosity. He'd wait till the very last second to strike.

As he rushed in, the cyborg let out a war cry. He would teach this boy a thing or two about messing with the wrong people, especially those who were stronger than him. He'd worry about Gero later. He wanted to make this beating he was about to deliver enjoyable.

When Tretton was a few feet away, Trunks finally moved, grabbing the hilt of his sword and unsheathing it, slicing at the naked left arm, the blade cutting through it like paper.

Flying by the sword wielding saiyan, Tretton crashed into the ground, skidding. Getting up, grasping the remains of his metal appendage, the cyborg growled in anger. How dare that monkey cut his arm off? He'd finish him off once and for all with his next attack; the beating be damned.

However, something was bothering him. During the whole match, that monkey hadn't been able to do this kind of damage ever, so why now? Why had he easily cut his arm off? The cyborg just had to know the answer.

"Tell me boy, how were you able to cut this metal when you couldn't damage it earlier? Tretton asked, calming down.

"Simple really," Trunks responded. "It takes ki to stop any harmful objects, like swords or bullets. Usually a person's skin is a good vessel for the ki to do that. However, metal cannot, thus your amputated limb. Is that good enough for you?"

A smirk was all the saiyan got in response. Tretton had to give the boy credit; taking advantage of such a simple concept. Oh well, that would be the last he would ever do. He'd make sure to kill this pest off with his own two hands; well, one remaining hand.

Thrusting out his remaining arm, Tretton powered up his S. S. Deadly Bomber, intent on ending the fight as the red energy appearing in his hand.

Trunks' eyes widen. He couldn't let that man fire that thing or he was history. Immediately, Trunks put the last bit of his energy into a ki blast and fired it at Tretton, the beam making contact with the growing red orb in his hand.

A huge explosion erupted as the charging attack blew up, consuming Tretton and Trunks in the fiery holocaust. A large mushroom cloud could be seen for miles from the demolition zone.

Once the cloud disappeared, a large crater was revealed. Nothing stirred around it except for the wind kicking up snow and ice.

Suddenly, a hand burst from underneath the icy ground. Pulling himself to the surface, Trunks gasped as fresh air flooded into his lungs. He wasn't sure how he survived that explosion, but finding himself buried under a couple feet of ice wasn't the best wake up call. It seemed to take forever until he had come to the surface.

Looking around at the devastation, the saiyan could find neither hide nor hair of Tretton. It could've been possible that he was hiding his ki again, but that seemed unlikely considering that the man was at the center of the blast.

After awhile, Trunks relaxed. If that guy was going to attack, he would've done it by now. But then, it didn't really matter. Trunks didn't have anything left to defend himself; no energy left to use. He might as well just wait until he recovered some of his strength to continue or be blasted from Tretton attacking him.

It was then that two pairs of feet landed in front of his vision. Just great, back up had arrived to finish him off. He had nothing left to defend himself with so he should be easy picking for these guys. Yet, he held no regrets. This was it, no more need to struggle against fate.

He had just had his last fight.

* * *

To dbzfan952: Lol, yeah, having everyone in different roles really mixes things up. I am good at killing peope off, aren't I? Haha, no one can top me now! 


	30. It's Been Awhile

This was insane, plain and simple.

According to reports Gero had just received, the Earth forces on Vegeta had done a planet wide surrender, returning control of it over to the saiyans.

On top of that was the fact that there were saiyan warriors on Earth.

If he needed any proof that saiyans were indeed in his backyard, the fact that he continued to feel the other chairs' power levels disappearing was evidence enough. And the problem was that it couldn't have come at a worse time.

After that unknown force had been routed by his defense forces, sightings of the Cold Empire were being confirmed. It didn't take a genius to know they were heading for Earth.

Everything was going to hell in a hand basket. Why was this happening now? Gero had no conclusive answer to this.

It was as if everyone had teamed up to eliminate him.

Well, they would have to earn that right. He would have his private ship prepared and launched before the Cold Family arrived or one of the saiyan warriors came calling for his head. He'd just have to start over from scratch that was all.

"Prepare my ship. I wanted it ready to launch within the hour," Gero ordered, a soldier saluting him and hurrying off.

Good, with that done, all he had to do was wait and he could start all over again.

* * *

Excitement was running through her veins. Almost nothing could stop Videl from feeling the thrill of finally meeting Gohan again. Yet for some reason, something had to keep raining on her parade.

Or to be more precise, someone.

Flying high over Central City, Videl carried Erasa as they flew through the air. With each passing moment, Videl could sense Gohan's ki signal getting closer and closer as they came into the city. However, Erasa was being a thorn in her side and wouldn't give in like she normally would. Taking Goten's order to find a ship way too seriously, that was all the blond would talk about, consistently nagging about it. It was like that girl didn't want to disobey the warrior, or get on Tien's bad side either. If things continued to go the way they were, there was no way Videl could justify going after her target.

So the easiest thing she could do was find a ship, dump the blond there, and then fly after Gohan as quickly as possible. It would shut Erasa up and ultimately get her out of her hair. She was pretty sure Tien or Goten would arrive soon enough so that her friend wasn't alone for very long.

"Videl, are you sure you're looking for a ship?" Erasa whined again, further frustrating the Satan girl. "You know that was our job, right?"

"Yes Erasa, I know that's our job. And now for the thousandth time, would you shut up about it?" Videl responded, trying to hold back the temptation to flat out drop the girl in her arms.

"Vi, I know you too well. You want to go after that saiyan guy instead of doing what we were told to do. But right now, we need to find a ship. It's very important we do this."

Videl just blew air out of her mouth. There was no sense arguing again. While Erasa was right, she still would have rather looked for Gohan, just as the blond had said. If only there was…

Hey, wait a minute; was that a launching site right there?

Slowly down to get a better look, Videl confirmed what she saw; a launching pad with several ships stationed nearby. What luck she had stumbled upon!

"Um, Videl? Why are you looking at the capital building?"

Rushing out of her reverie, Videl turned her attention to the structure a couple blocks away from the hanger, seeing the building that Erasa had spoken of.

The Satan girl's eyes widen. Was the hanger she was looking at belonging to the government?

"Erasa, you see the hanger down there?"

"What hanger are you…oh, that's what you were looking at. Hey, we got our ship!" the blond exclaimed.

"You bet we did," Videl said as she smirked. Not only had she found where they'd get their ship, but if her ki senses were right, Gohan seemed to be nearby, specifically in the capital building. This was just too perfect.

Eagerly, Videl flew straight for the hanger, landing on the ground and releasing Erasa. "Hey Erasa, do you think you could get a shuttle ready?" Videl asked.

"Huh? I don't know anything about ships. Why don't you do it?"

Videl growled. She didn't have time for this. The saiyan she was after was within spitting distance and she wasn't going to let him get away. Not this time.

"Sorry, but I need to go. Gohan's close by and I'm not letting him have the chance to escape me again." And with that said, Videl took off into the air, leaving Erasa with a bewildered look before she started shouting after the fleeing girl.

"Videl, you get back here right now! What about the ship! Videl!"

* * *

Landing before the steps of the large building, Gohan could feel his anticipation rise. If his ki sensing was right, the last of the strong kis was here, the others falling at the hands of the younger saiyans.

Taking a deep breath, the saiyan warrior rushed up the steps and into the building. Now was his chance to firmly cripple the parasite known as the human race.

And he wasn't going to let it get away.

Running through corridors, through large rooms, and odd passages, Gohan kept his focus on the task at hand. He was getting closer to his goal. Almost there…

Finally, he came bursting into a large room, one that was practically wide open. Just a big waste of space.

However, several yards away from the entrance the saiyan had used, an old man stared at him, surprised by his arrival. However, something was wrong about this old man. He didn't seem to be crippled by old age as most of the elderly were.

"Who are you," Gohan barked. "Don't make me tear you apart for the answer."

Recovering himself, the elderly gentleman replied "It should be the other way around. I am the sole ruler of Planet Earth, the Twentieth chair Gero. Now identify yourself or I will have you destroyed."

Gohan smirked. "Just the guy I was looking for. Prepare to meet your maker Gero cause you'll be seeing him very soon."

Gero snorted. "Once again, you are mistaken. Do not underestimate me young man because I will show you horrors that you have never seen before."

This time Gohan snorted. "Fine then old man, show me what you got."

Gero stood straight up, looking dead on at his opponent. Suddenly his eyes glowed and twin beams fired from them, racing towards the saiyan.

A little surprised, Gohan leapt into the air to dodge the attack. Fortunately, he kept his guard up because Gero had appeared right in front of him, throwing a punch at him. The saiyan easily caught the attack with one hand, using his other to grip onto Gero's forearm, and spun him around in the air, throwing him away.

Gero managed to recover himself in midair, looking back at the youth in front of him; surprised when he didn't see him there. It was then that he was rammed in his side by Gohan's shoulder, sending him flying across the room and into a wall.

Keeping himself in air still, Gero looked up to see his opponent charging him again. This time the old man raised his arm and fired a ki blast to defend himself. Gohan, in turn, continued charging, slapping the beam out of his way as he continued racing towards Gero.

Rolling on the wall, Gero narrowly dodged a devastating punch that left a huge dent where he had last been. Kicking with his legs, the old man felt he had landed a blow on the menace, looking to see what had happen to his opponent.

He was shocked to find that he hadn't caused any damage. Barely a couple feet away, Gohan stood, floating as he stared at the old man. "You're not very strong, are you?" he said as he finished examining the kick, almost sounding disappointed.

"Shut up!" Gero shouted. He would not take such disrespect from some hot head.

"I guess that's what happens when an old man fights a saiyan warrior," Gohan mused. "I should've known this wouldn't have been a good fight."

Gero's eyes widen. This was one of the saiyans that had landed on Earth? It was far too soon for him to have arrived here. Looking down towards Gohan's waist, he saw the last thing he wanted to see; a tail neatly wrapped around his waist. There just had to be something he could do…

As Gero fumbled in his chaotic thoughts, he unconsciously clinched his hand, a round object pressing into his curled fingers, reminding him of the energy absorber. That was when Gero came up with an idea. He would just steal the saiyan's energy. That would weaken him and strengthen himself at the same time. Looked like he didn't have to worry as much as he thought.

Lunging, Gero clamped his hand around Gohan's arm, rejoiced that his tactic had worked, and immediately began sucking in energy.

Gohan, however, immediately realized the sensation of his ki being stolen and slammed his fist into Gero's face; the old man releasing his grip on the saiyan. Floating back a few feet to put distance between them, the warrior checked to see how much ki he had lost and came to the conclusion he hadn't lost too much.

It still didn't sit well that he had allowed that trick to work though.

"So you like to steal energy huh?" Gohan said slightly peeved. "Well enjoy what ever you stole because that will be the last you will ever taste."

Gero smirked. "Don't be so cocky boy. I've weakened you and strengthened myself. I won't be going easy on you anymore."

Once again, the old man lunged at the saiyan, both hands wide open to reveal the small jewels in his palms. Gohan dodge the initial grab and kneed Gero in the gut, jackhammering towards the ground in a follow up attack.

Gero recovered himself somewhat in mid fall, landing on the ground on all fours. Immediately, he jerked his head up and fired his eyebeams again.

Gohan disappeared as the beams neared him, reappearing in front of the old man and slamming his foot on his opponents chin, causing him to fly off the ground and hover in front of the saiyan. Gohan immediately unleashed a barrage of punches, beating Gero senseless before nailing a hard right hook that sent the old man flying.

Gero, however, recovered more quickly than the saiyan had anticipated; flipping through the air and landing on his feet, firing a ki blast that landed at Gohan's feet. A screen of smoke and dust covered the saiyan warrior, leaving him blind as to the human's activity.

As soon as he felt Gero's ki signal disappear, Gohan knew he had to get out of that smokescreen. Otherwise, he was just a sitting duck waiting to get attack. Dashing out of the smoke, the saiyan found himself near a wall, his surroundings void of anything living. This was bad, especially since he couldn't sense his opponent.

It was the sound of someone taking a quick breath that alerted the saiyan to a presence behind him. Swinging himself around, Gohan used his left hand to grab the incoming attack, grabbing an arm with its hand wide open. Without hesitating, Gohan straightened his right hand, his thumb curled into his palm, and chopped off the appendage, separating it where the elbow and forearm connected.

Gero let out a scream of pain as he stumbled backwards, his back slamming into the wall, his arm squirting out blood with a few cut wires hanging out of the opening. Dropping the severed arm in his hand, Gohan stared at the spectacle.

"What the hell are wires doing in your arm?" the saiyan asked out loud, not expecting an answer.

Gero, however, bit back his pain and answered. "Those wires were what allowed me to drain you."

Gohan's eyes widen. "You're a cyborg?"

"I see you've finally caught on. No mere human can do the things I and the rest of my government can do."

Astonishment became prominent on the saiyan's face. "You're all cyborgs?"

"That is correct. Every single one of them accepted my offer for enhancements."

Gohan soon got his emotion back under control, schooling his features. It didn't matter what these humans had done to themselves to get stronger; he had defeated them and that was all that mattered. And right now, he just had to finish the job by ending this old man's life. Raising his hand and aiming it at the old man, the saiyan said "Then I hope you keep your 'enhancements.' You're gonna be needing them in hell."

As the saiyan warrior gathered his ki, the last person he had ever expected to see arrived. Barreling into the room, Videl came to a stop once she saw the scene before her; Gohan getting ready to end the life of the Earth's elected government leader.

Breathing heavily from running all over the building, the Satan girl said "Gohan…"

Jerking his head from the old man before him, Gohan's eyes widen once he saw the girl. What was she doing here?

It was that moment that Gero decided to attack. Straightening this only hand, the old man sprung at the distracted warrior, jabbing his hand at him. Barely catching the moment from the corner of his eye, Gohan tried to lean out of the way, failing as the hand pierced into his lower abdomen.

Gero let out an evil laugh. "I have you now saiyan, there's nowhere to run. Now I will drain you of all of your energy."

Gohan's wide eyes began to narrow. How could he have let his guard just drop like that? It was stupid of him to and now he had a hand in his gut with blood running down his leg and the old man's arm. Add to that the draining sensation as his ki started to leave him and the saiyan knew he was in a very bad place.

Videl could only look on it shock. Right before her eyes, the man she had been searching for was being killed slowly. Despite the cries in her head that told her she had to do something, she just felt paralyzed, as if there was nothing she could do.

As Gohan looked at the old man as he leered in triumph, he saw Gero's pleasure soon fade as his eyes began to widen. A large shadow soon encompassed the two as a large hand came from behind the saiyan and clamp down on Gero's arm. With a quick jerk, the hand was removed from Gohan's belly, a sharp jolt of pain running through him; yet he refused to succumb to it. He'd finish the old man off before he would even think about collapsing.

"You…you should be dead!" Gero exclaimed.

A monotone voice replied to the old man. "I thought you would know better than that Twentieth chair."

"You nuisance, what does it take to kill you Jericho?!"

Ignoring the conversation, Gohan raised his head to up to Gero's chest and fired a ki blast, the blast blowing a hole straight through the old man's body. With the sudden force of the attack, his body was thrown back to the wall, his other arm being ripped off as the man called Jericho still held on to it. Slamming into the wall and sliding down to the floor, a trail of blood decorating the surface above him, Gero took in huge gasps of air, whimpers of pain coming from him.

Taking a few steps forward, Gohan stood before the broken man. He wasn't done with him just yet.

"What do you think you're doing?!" the mysterious Jericho cried out, dropping the arm he held to the ground.

"Stay out of this," the warrior roared. "This man has taken almost everything from me and I'll be taking everything from him by taking what he finds more precious than any living being…his own life."

Jericho remained silent. While he could easily stop the warrior from carrying out his action, he had no reason to. There was nothing he could say or do that would justify saving the wounded man's life.

However, Gero didn't like Gohan's idea at all. "No…wait…we can…work…something out…just…don't…kill me…"

With his left hand covering his wound, the saiyan warrior raised his right hand before him. Bringing out the remaining bit of his ki, a bright, swirling ki ball appeared in his hand. "There's nothing to work out. You've felt like you could do what ever you like without consequence. You've taken so much from the people you've kill, the families you've destroyed, the societies you've crushed. Now here's one last thing you can take on your way to King Yemma. This technique has been passed down through my family for generations…"

"No! Please!" Gero begged.

Completely ignoring him, Gohan drew his back before crying out "Final Spirit Cannon!" throwing the attack at its target.

The only thing Gero could do was scream as the blast incinerated him and a large part of the wall and floor. An explosion blew all the remaining people off their feet, sending them across the room. When the smoke cleared, a large hole was the only evidence of Gero's last moments.

As Gohan laid on the floor, his hand still covering his wound, he gave out a hoarse cough, bits of blood flying out. That wasn't the result he had expected from his grandfather's technique, but at least it did what it was supposed to do.

Suddenly, he felt a presence next time, leaning over him. Looking up, he saw Videl looking down at him, worry dominating her features. "Gohan, are you okay?"

Of all the dumbest questions to ask him, that had to be the one. But right now, he didn't feel like causing a fight for once. "I've seen better days."

"We've got to get you out of here. The others should be waiting for us," the girl said, trying to lean the saiyan up. If it hadn't been for the shot of pain that flooded his system, he would've asked what she meant by others. But right now, he was content to biting his tongue so the pain would calm down.

"Can I be of assistance?"

Jerking her head around, Videl saw the mysterious man that had helped Gohan. Standing in black spandex with weird green armor, the giant man looked down at the two, his blue eyes studying them, his red Mohawk sitting on his head.

"Uhhh sure, do you think you could help me get him to the government ship hanger?" Videl asked unsure.

The giant smiled. "That I can do."

Kneeling down, Jericho picked Gohan off the ground and placed him on his shoulder like a sack of beans. Standing up, he looked at Videl, saying "Let's go.

Videl nodded and took off into the hallway, Jericho following right behind her.

* * *

To DragonGirl: Hopefully this last chapter satisfied your appitite for more G/V interaction.

To dbzfan952: I see I have a Trunks fan on my hands lol. Well, I'll let you think what you want, you'll find out very shortly.


	31. Reply

Everything seemed to be a blur to the Satan girl. As she and her silent companion raced down corridor after corridor, she could feel panic building up in her.

On the giant man's shoulder was the wounded Gohan. Although she was excited to see the saiyan again, she was partly worried that she had seen him alive for the last time. She had barged in on him as he was fighting the reigning Earth leader Gero and had stupidly distracted him from the fight. Had Gohan not moved himself as much as he could, that hole in gut could've been much worse.

'Damn it' Videl thought. How the hell could you get out of this place? It was like an endless maze; one that she or Gohan for that matter didn't need right now.

"Hey tall guy," she addressed the man behind her. "Do you have any idea on how to get out of this place?"

"We're heading towards the hangers, are we not?" the man, Jericho she believed his name was, asked.

"Yeah, that's right."

"If I'm right about where we are, we could very easily make our way out of here."

Videl could feel a bit of relief coming into her. "So you can get us out of her, right?"

"That is correct. Now watch yourself; things are about to get messy."

Not waiting for an answer from Videl, Jericho aimed his hand at the wall next to them, charging up his energy, and blasting a hole right into the wall.

Leaping through the new doorway, Jericho repeated his action over and over, blasting his way towards the outside with Videl hot on his heels.

Going this way, the two reached the outside within moments, the rush of fresh air encompassing them. However, they didn't dally there for long, racing off towards the hanger.

Hopefully, everyone else was waiting for them.

* * *

Goten was standing in the ship's doorway as he looked towards the capital building, an anxious look on his face. A short while ago, the young saiyan had felt his brother's ki drop dramatically and then increase before dropping off again. Though he could still feel it, it was nerve wrecking to know that his last bit of family was hurt, possible fatal. If only Gohan's ki level would become stronger, it would put him more at ease.

After he and Tien had recovered somewhat from their battle with the Chestnuts, they had felt Trunks having a difficult battle and headed off to see if they could assist him. When they had arrived, they found a huge crater with the purple haired saiyan sticking halfway out of the ground. After digging him out, the three headed off to where they could feel Gohan's ki, running into the ship hanger as soon as they got close.

It was almost a bit of a comical scene when they had arrived. Down in the base, they saw Erasa trying to move one of the ships using everything she could, forklifts and all. Of course, the girl hadn't noticed the wheels beneath the ship so she didn't even consider getting into the shuttle and driving it onto the launch pad.

After watching for a bit, the three warriors landed and took care of preparing the ship, getting it on the launch pad, and loading up with supplies they found within the base. It was around the time they had completed these actions that Goten had felt Gohan's ki fall.

In the meantime, while he was keeping a lookout, Trunks and Tien were getting the ship ready to launch at a moment's notice. It hadn't taken very long to do, so both fighters leaned against opposite walls, going into their own little worlds.

Unfortunately for Trunks, Erasa had other plans. After keeping out of the way as the saiyan worked hard to prep the ship, the blond had come up with her own plan to gain the young man's attention. So once Trunks had leaned back to relax, Erasa had swooped in.

Needless to say, Trunks tried to put her down easy but had no success against the determined blond. So he ended taking off into the ship, trying to hide from his pursuer, Erasa going after him.

Tien couldn't help himself when he saw the blond girl flirting and giving chase to the young saiyan. That boy was going to need every edge he could get to shake her off. Then again, he really doubted that Trunks would be able to get rid of her.

Goten ignored all of this, however. Diligently, he watched for any sign that his brother was coming. He would be damned if he would lose him on this mud ball of a planet.

Then he saw something. Moving towards the ship, he saw two people running, one short and one tall, and another person on the shoulder of tall person. The closer they got the more he could recognize the smaller person as that girl he had met before, Videl. The giant though, was someone he didn't know and became very wary. That changed when he saw the man carrying Gohan.

Rushing from the ship, the young saiyan charged at them. He wanted to get to his brother as quickly as he possibly could. He could already tell from that distance that something was wrong.

"What happened?" Goten cried out as he neared them. "What happen to my brother?"

The giant answered, keeping his eyes on the ship's entrance. "There's no time for that right now. We must get on the ship right now."

The two humans ran by the worried saiyan, causing him to stop and turn back, running after them now. "What do you mean there's no time?"

"There's a large force descending onto Earth. If they land before we can launch, we're as good as dead," the man responded, never breaking his gaze from the ship.

Not asking anymore questions, Goten used a burst of speed to appear at the door of the ship before the humans. Videl and her companion arrived soon after, hurrying into the ship, Goten stepping in after them and closing the door.

"It's about time," Trunks said from the control room. "Everybody hang on, we're lifting off."

Hurrying into the main room, Goten saw Trunks and Tien were at the controls, getting the ship ready to launch. Turning, he saw the tall guy placing Gohan on the floor, leaning him against the wall. It was then that he saw the bloody hole in his brother's stomach.

Dread seemed to fill his entire body. His brother, his seemingly invincible brother was hurt, and badly too. They needed to take care of that wound immediately or it was possible that the saiyan could die, whether from the trauma or blood loss. Rushing over, Goten almost launched into a fit of hysterics when Gohan, of all people, stopped him.

"Goten, it's alright," the older saiyan said. "I'm gonna be alright, don't you worry."

"But Gohan, you've been hurt and badly! How can you—"

"I said don't worry!" Gohan interrupted. "Right now, we need to get into space and head home. At the moment, you need to help the Trunks and that bald guy, not baby me. Now get to it. I've had worse injuries than this, you know that; I'll be fine."

Hesitantly, Goten conceded. "Well, if you say so…"

"I know so. You can mother me once we get off the planet, deal?"

"Deal," the young saiyan said before turning to go help Trunks and Tien. After watching his brother going to the controls, Gohan leaned his head against the wall, closing his eyes. Their mission was over, complete. All they had to do now was get back to Vegeta and they could official call it a success.

And as the saiyan fell in between consciousness and unconsciousness, his mind wandered, getting lost as the ship lifted off and flying towards the heavens.

* * *

It was over, finally over. The human menace was defeated; a threat no longer. If I could have rejoiced, I would have. Unfortunately, I had allowed that old geezer get that shot on me. Just the price I pay for dropping my guard…

As I lay against the ship's wall, I can hear everything. The talk between Trunks, Goten, and that other guy as they maintained the ship's course. The familiar jerking as we broke through Earth's atmosphere had finally quelled down, so there was no need to think we'd be stuck on that hell hole. I open my eyes and right in front of me, I see a window…

And outside that window, I see the most extraordinary thing. A huge battleship was just about to enter the atmosphere along with many smaller vessels. All around that small window that gave me sight, I could see balls of light flickering into existence and then dying out. Must be the Earth Defense Forces trying to fight that invader. It didn't matter though; they wouldn't be able to win…

While I watched that scene of battle, I never realized who it was that was invading. I would later learn that it was the Cold Family, finally arriving to put an end to the people they had been fighting with for so long. Too bad they came a little too late…

It didn't matter anymore. I could feel sleep trying to overcome me and I was done fighting it. I took one last look around, the three guys still lording over the controls; that tall guy that had carried me to the ship; a strange blond girl seated in one of the seats, staying out of the way; and then that Videl girl, always sneaking glances at me as if I didn't know she was looking at me…

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes once again, this time for good. As I slowly fell into unconsciousness, I saw the strangest thing. It was like a parade of people I knew were visiting me or something along the lines of that…

First came my family. Memories of spars with Dad, Mom scolding me for destroying the side of our house, training with my grandfather Bardock, the camp fire before the attack on New Central with Raditz; each of them seeming as if they had happened an eternity ago…

Next came the people I had met over my life, some I could even call friends. Surviving after the invasion with Vegeta, Bibidi allowing us the use of his home, receiving the order to attack Earth from Broly, meeting Nappa at Cape Base; I honestly could've done without Nappa…

Then came my comrades, my brothers in arms. Goten, Trunks, Piccolo; it was a joy fighting along side of them. Everything from telling the young ones their fathers were dead, destroying bases, fighting in New Central, seeing Piccolo fuse with me, the fights in space; all this flashed before me. If I had to go into this war again, I would still choose them to fight along side of…

Then, something strange happened. I saw the people I hadn't really considered friends or family or anything at all. There was that bald bodyguard from New Central, both of us back there fighting again; the blond girl that was sitting out of the way was…just there in that chair she was in; that guy Gero had called Jericho, him hovering behind me as he pulled out that old man's arm…

Finally, an image of Videl passed before me. We were both on that hillside outside of East Fort, the moment right after we had kissed. Of all the feelings I had thought I would have, a calm warmth that spread throughout my body was not one of them. Yet, it felt right somehow. I don't know why I would feel it, especially for a human girl, but that didn't matter…

Nothing mattered anymore…

* * *

"Well, you don't see that everyday," Tien said as he watched the formidable battleships entering Earth's atmosphere.

"For Earth, maybe," Trunks replied, watching the spectacle as well.

All the passengers were silent as the scene unfolded. Who ever those battleships belonged to was going to have a pretty easy time taking over Earth, especially after the removal of the Earth's top governmental figures.

However, that sight wasn't what held Videl's attention. Instead, she was more focused on the sight of the slumping Gohan. Somewhere between the launch and now the wounded saiyan had fallen asleep, but something was troubling the girl. That sleep looked a little too deep for her comfort.

The moment she was able to stand without fear of being thrown around the room, the Satan girl walked over to Gohan and gently shook him, hoping that he would make some sign as to his current state.

Nothing happened.

"Leave him alone, can't you tell he's sleeping?" an agitated Goten said. If his brother wanted to sleep, that was fine with him. He'd make sure no one disturbed his slumber.

However, Videl shook her head. "There's something not right about this though. This sleep he's in just doesn't look natural."

This time, Trunks spoke up. "Move aside and I'll check him out."

Moving to a side of the sleeping Gohan, the young saiyan knelt where Videl had once been, checking up on the elder saiyan. Feeling for his pulse in multiple areas, checking his heartbeat rate, and his breathing patterns with his hands, a troubled look crossed Trunks' face. Something was not right here.

"Trunks, is something wrong?" Goten asked. From the way his friend was looking, something was wrong.

"I don't get it, not one bit," Trunks murmured, not meaning for the other saiyan to hear it.

Immediately, Trunks was pulled off the ground by his armor strap; Goten holding him off the ground. "Trunks, you better tell me what's wrong with my brother or I swear I'll send you into the next life in a body cast."

"That's just it Goten, I don't know what's wrong," the saiyan replied, knowing he was treading on very thin ice.

However, the mysterious Jericho spoke up then. "Tell me, what are his symptoms?"

Both saiyans turned their heads to look at the giant human. Slowly lowering his friend to the ground, Goten watched the two like a hawk, wanting to catch every single word and action.

"Well, his breathing and pulse are a bit weak though his heart rate is still strong. It's like his body shut itself down or something," Trunks said.

Jericho bowed his head. "Then it is what I feared."

"What?!" Goten barked, his fury returning full force. "Tell me what's wrong with my brother!"

Jericho looked at the young man solemnly, seeming to pick out the right words before deciding to say it bluntly.

"Your brother has fallen into a coma."

The whole room grew very still. Everyones' eyes were firmly on the red haired giant, shocked from his diagnois.

"A...a coma?' Goten said almost in disbelief.

However, Jericho wasn't done speaking.

"And telling from his earlier truama, I'd have to say..." the giant drifted off.

"Say...what," Goten said, almost on the verge of madness. After a brief pause, the man managed to finish the sentence.

"I don't know if he'll ever wake up."

* * *

To DragonGirl: No problem. 

To dbzfan952: Uh oh, out of senzu beans or are they? Hope I calmed you down from your Trunks worrying lol.

And this is the last chapter of this fic. It's been a nice run and I thank all thoses who stayed with me and read the story. Special thanks goes to all who reviewed; I appreciate it very much. Sorry I can't send review replies to you anonymous reviewers for this chapter and I'd just like to say, I hoped you enjoyed this story, along with everyone else who has read this fic. I had a great time writing this buggar.

And before you start demanding to know what happens, yes I have plans to continue this story further. If everything goes right, an even better story will pop out, though I think it might be a bit hard to top considering how different this here story is.

And now I must get back into that SOL sequel I've promised. Look out for it sometime in March. At least, that when I plan on releasing that story to the public eye. I got at least a week to get back into the swing of that style though it may be tricky after not writing in it for so long. Don't cha just love a challenge?

Before I forget, I've been asked recently to find a dubbed anime done by a certain company. Many of you I assume are familiar with FUNimation or whatever as they were the ones who've dubbed most anime in the US, DBZ being one of the more obvious ones. Right now, I'm looking for another dubbing group called Ocean group or Ocean society. It's Canadien so you may not have heard of them. Anyway, if anyone can help me out with finding them, it would be much appreicated.

Until next time,

ShadowMajin


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